US President Donald Trump on Monday vowed to continue strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen and inflict “real pain” on them and their Iranian backers, until they ceased all aggression towards American ships.
US President Donald Trump warned Houthis and Iran that strikes against them would continue unless they ceased attacks on US ships(AFP)
In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump issued a warning to Yemen’s Houthis and claimed that strikes conducted by the US over the last two weeks had caused major damage to the rebel group.
Also Read: The Atlantic releases US’ Yemen attack plans leaked on Signal: 5 key takeaways
“The Iran-backed Houthi Terrorists have been decimated by the relentless strikes over the past two weeks. Many of their Fighters and Leaders are no longer with us. We hit them every day and night — Harder and harder. Their capabilities that threaten Shipping and the Region are rapidly being destroyed,” stated Trump.
He also said, “Our attacks will continue until they are no longer a threat to Freedom of Navigation. The choice for the Houthis is clear: Stop shooting at U.S. ships, and we will stop shooting at you. Otherwise, we have only just begun, and the real pain is yet to come, for both the Houthis and their sponsors in Iran.”
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Trump has also, in the last few days, issued threats to Iran to comply with a deal regarding their nuclear programme, or face bombing.
It also comes amid a sharpening of Trump’s rhetoric towards Tehran, with the president threatening that “there will be bombing” if Iran does not reach a deal on its nuclear program.
Trump’s message was also reposted on the social media platform by US defence secretary Pete Hegseth and national security advisor Mike Waltz.
Yemen strike details revealed in Signal chat
The Atlantic leaked messages from a confidential Signal group chat discussing strikes in Yemen, where top officials such as Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard, Mike Waltz and vice president JD Vance mentioned timings for attacks on Houthi targets.
In one of the messages, defence secretary Pete Hegseth also spoke about the media strategy that would be employed surrounding the strikes on Yemen.
He said, “1. think messaging is going to be tough no matter what nobody knows who the Houthis are which is why we would need to stay focused on: 1) Biden failed & 2) Iran funded.”
He added that this was less about the Houthis and more about re-establishing a policy of deterrence unlike former President Biden, and restoring their freedom of navigation, after Houthis targeted US ships in the Red Sea. Details of the types of military aircraft, timings of attacks were also revealed though the Trump administration has denied that any of the information was sensitive.
“This case has been closed here at the White House as far as we are concerned,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, as quoted by AP.