Trump warns US will hit Houthis in Yemen after they fire at two Saudi ships

WASHINGTON — President Trump vowed Thursday to hold Iran accountable for any attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on commercial shipping in the Red Sea hours after the Tehran-backed rebels hit two Saudi Arabian ships.

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“Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if they do this again, the U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves, who I am very disappointed with,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, noting that the Houthis “have, until now, acted very professionally and smart” during Operation Epic Fury, which began Feb. 28.

Wednesday’s attack raised fears that the Houthis could attempt to shut down the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a key oil transit point, and further rattle global markets. 

Bab-el-Mandeb, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean beyond, sees an estimated 6.2 million barrels of oil — roughly 5% of the world’s supply — pass through it annually.

In the spring of last year, the US carried out a series of airstrikes targeting the Houthis’ infrastructure and ability to cause mayhem in global shipping lanes.

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“A year ago the United States of America attacked, very powerfully, the Houthis, for their interference with commerce and trade, by shooting at ships. Since that time, and during our conflict with Iran, they have acted very responsibly,” Trump recounted in his Thursday Truth Social post. 

During the conflict, Tehran has moved to tighten its control over shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil supplies once flowed annually. 

Trump has ordered a series of attacks against Iran meant to loosen the regime’s grip on the waterway, with limited success. 

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