Yemen’s Houthi rebels vowed to “meet escalation with escalation” on Sunday, just hours after President Trump ordered massive U.S. airstrikes aimed at permanently ending the Iran-backed terrorist group’s targeting of commercial ships in and around the Red Sea.
In a post on X, senior Houthi leader and spokesman Mohammed al-Bukhaiti said America’s “aggression” against the Houthis is not justified and will be met with escalation.
His comments come on the heels of Mr. Trump’s own social media post Saturday in which he warned the Houthis that “hell will rain down upon you like nothing you have ever seen before” if the group resumes its missile-and-drone attacks against commercial vessels.
Mr. Trump’s comments — which also included a stern warning to the Houthis’ patron state, Iran — make clear that he’s prepared to ramp up American attacks on Houthi positions in Yemen, while the Houthi response suggests the group may try to directly attack U.S. military assets in response. Those developments signal that more intense fighting in and around Yemen may be on the immediate horizon.
In his X post, Mr. al-Bukhaiti said the group threatened to resume attacks on commercial ships because Israel has not abided by a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, where it has been battling the terrorist group Hamas for the past 18 months.
“The Zionist entity has not adhered to the ceasefire agreement, so our naval operations target it alone with the aim of lifting the siege on Gaza,” Mr. al-Bukhaiti said. “This is a moral and humanitarian position. America’s involvement in the aggression against Yemen is unjustified and will result in a response. We will meet escalation with escalation, and the one who starts it is the most unjust.”
U.S. Central Command late Saturday shared video footage and photos of what it said were strikes against Houthi positions, which were reportedly concentrated around the Yemeni capital city of Sanaa, which is controlled by the Houthis. The American strikes reportedly hit Houthi radars, as well as the group’s missiles and drones.
Saturday’s attacks also serve as a clear warning to Iran, which financially and logistically supports the Houthis and is accelerating its nuclear program.
Mr. Trump delivered an explicit warning to Tehran in a lengthy Truth Social post detailing the strikes.
“To Iran: Support for the Houthi terrorists must end IMMEDIATELY! Do NOT threaten the American People, their President, who has received one of the largest mandates in Presidential History, or Worldwide shipping lanes,” the president posted. “If you do, BEWARE, because America will hold you fully accountable and we won’t be nice about it!”
Those comments come as the Trump administration appears open to a diplomatic deal to stop Iran’s nuclear ambitions, but the president has made clear that military options remain on the table to prevent Tehran from acquiring an atomic bomb. Israel also reportedly is weighing direct strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.
The latest strikes appear to be the most significant U.S. military action abroad since Mr. Trump took office on Jan. 20. He warned the Houthis that more bombing will come if they don’t stop their aggression.
“The Houthi attack on American vessels will not be tolerated. We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective,” the president posted on social media. “The Houthis have choked off shipping in one of the most important Waterways of the World, grinding vast swaths of Global Commerce to a halt, and attacking the core principle of Freedom of Navigation upon which International Trade and Commerce depends.”
He added: “To all Houthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY. IF THEY DON’T, HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE!”
Escalation on the horizon?
Anees al-Asbahi, spokesman for the Houthi-run health ministry in Yemen, said at least nine people were killed and another nine wounded in the strikes. Other media reports Sunday morning said that more than 30 had been killed.
But the Houthis said the U.S. operation will not deter them.
“Sanaa will remain Gaza’s shield and support and will not abandon it no matter the challenges,” said Nasruddin Amer, deputy head of the Houthi media office, referring to the Houthis’ strong support for the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, which is based in the Gaza Strip.
The Houthis have targeted commercial ships in and around the Red Sea since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas, which is also backed and financed by Iran, attacked Israel. Since January 2024, the U.S. has led an air campaign targeting the Houthis in Yemen, though the attempted Houthi strikes against Israel and on commercial ships continued.
Over the past 14 months, Britain has taken part in some of the airstrikes against the Houthis, but the most recent round was reportedly carried out only by the U.S. military.
The Houthis had targeted more than 100 ships, including U.S. vessels, with missiles and drones. The terrorists scaled back attacks in recent months amid the U.S.-backed Israel-Hamas ceasefire push.
But the Yemen-based militants this week warned that “any Israeli vessel” traveling through Midwest waters would again be targeted. There were fears that American military ships, along with commercial ships in the region, would again come under fire from the Islamists.
Some lawmakers praised Saturday’s strikes and said they sent a strong message to Iran.
“I applaud the president’s decisive action in Yemen,” said Sen. James Risch, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“With Iran’s support, the Houthis have operated with impunity for far too long, attacked American sailors, attacked Israel, and have shut down Red Sea shipping and passed costs to Americans. From maximum pressure to dismantling Iran’s proxies, President Trump has made good on his promise to reverse Biden’s failed Middle East policies,” Mr. Risch, Idaho Republican, said in a statement. “His decisive action today sends a clear message to the Iranian regime that its terrorists can no longer dominate the Middle East.”
