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US President Donald Trump has traded threats with Iranian officials as he pledged to hold Tehran responsible for any retaliation by the Houthis. The bellicose rhetoric came two days after the Trump Administration’s first significant military action targeted the group that had threatened to resume its campaign against shipping in the Red Sea. ‘Back to the Dark Ages’ or not tough enough? US port-fee proposals spark fierce debate Read more US Central Command, which coordinates American military forces in the region, said on Saturday that it launched a series of operations against targets across Yemen on the orders of the president. The Houthis responded by threatening to attack US ships. On Monday, Trump said that any retaliation would be met with great force, and he said it would be blamed on Iran. “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,” he said on his Truth Social platform.Article continues below the advert “Iran will be held responsible and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire!” Iran responded with threats of its own. Esmaeil Baghaei, a spokesman for the country’s Foreign Ministry, said any act of aggression would be met with a “decisive and definite” response, according to Iran’s PressTV. Decisive response “We will respond decisively to any aggression against Iran’s territorial integrity and its national security and interests. There is no doubt about this,” he said. The barbs came as US defence officials signalled that Saturday’s strikes were not the end of US action. Pete Hegseth is US defence secretary. Photo: Gage Skidmore/CC BY-SA 2.0 Defense Department spokesman Sean Parnell said the US will use “overwhelming” military force until it achieves its objectives. “This is also not an endless offensive. This is not about regime change in the Middle East. This is about putting American interests first,” he said. Chaos for shipping in Washington after Trump hit the ground with a vengeance Read more “There is a very clear end state to this operation, and that begins the moment the Houthis pledge to stop attacking our ships and putting American lives at risk.” Over the weekend, defence secretary Pete Hegseth said the US military will keep engaging the Iranian-backed group until it stops acting against US ships in the Red Sea. “Freedom of navigation is basic. It’s a core national interest,” Hegseth said, according to a Defense Department account of an interview. “The minute the Houthis say, ‘We’ll stop shooting at your ships [and] we’ll stop shooting at your drones,’ this campaign will end but, until then, it will be unrelenting.”
Updated 18 March 2025 1:35 GMT
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