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U.S. President Donald Trump blamed Iran for Houthi attacks in a post on Monday on his social media platform Truth Social, and threatened to attack Iran in retaliation.
"Let nobody be fooled! The hundreds of attacks being made by Houthi, the sinister mobsters and thugs based in Yemen, who are hated by the Yemeni people, all emanate from, and are created by, IRAN. Any further attack or retaliation by the 'Houthis' will be met with great force, and there is no guarantee that that force will stop there," Trump wrote.
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Massive pro-Houthis'demonstration in Sanaa
He added that "Iran has played 'the innocent victim' of rogue terrorists from which they’ve lost control, but they haven’t lost control. They’re dictating every move, giving them the weapons, supplying them with money and highly sophisticated Military equipment, and even, so-called, 'Intelligence.' Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire!"
The post came after tens of thousands of people who support the Houthi regime gathered Monday afternoon in a massive demonstration in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa. The rally was intended as a show of force by the Iran-backed group in response to the wave of U.S. airstrikes launched against it beginning on Saturday night. During the demonstration, which was broadcast live on the Houthis’ Al-Masirah television network, crowds chanted familiar slogans: “Death to America! Death to Israel!”
In Sanaa’s main square, protesters waved Yemeni and Palestinian flags, held rifles, and carried signs and copies of the Quran. “Yemen will never back down! We challenge the Americans and the Zionists,” one speaker declared through a microphone, rousing the crowd. Similar demonstrations were also held in other Houthi-controlled areas, including Saada, Hudaydah, Dhamar, and Amran.
The mass protests were called for by Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, who urged Yemenis on Sunday to take to the streets “by the millions” to protest the American airstrikes. The U.S. military launched the offensive over the weekend on orders from President Donald Trump, following the Houthis’ announcement that the group had resumed attacks on ships “linked to Israel” in the Red Sea, disrupting international shipping lanes. The Houthi attacks, which the group claims are acts of solidarity with Gaza, have significantly impacted global maritime trade since October 2023, forcing vessels to avoid the Suez Canal in favor of longer, safer routes and driving up insurance costs.
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US fighter jet takes off over the Red Sea as part of the bombing campaign in Yemen
(Photo: DVIDS / AFP)
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The scene of a US bombing in Saada; Houthis claim: Dozens killed, nearly 100 injured
(Photo: AFP)
Upon launching the strikes on Saturday, President Trump vowed that “hell” awaited the Houthis and declared, “Your time is up.” According to U.S. officials, several senior Houthi commanders have been killed since the strikes began. The Houthis, for their part, claim at least 53 people have been killed and 98 wounded in the American strikes, including civilians, among them five children and two women. Washington has indicated the military campaign could last for weeks.
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Al-Masirah TV reported that U.S. airstrikes continued Monday, targeting Houthi positions in the port city of Hudaydah and the al-Jawf region north of Sanaa. In retaliation, the Houthis claimed they launched two attacks in the past 24 hours against the USS Harry S. Truman in the northern Red Sea. However, they have yet to provide any evidence to support these claims. Houthi leaders warned that attacks on shipping in the Red Sea would continue as long as the U.S. military strikes Yemen.