Trump: US Will Hold Iran Responsible for Houthi Ship Attacks

President Donald Trump warned Iran on Thursday that the U.S. will hold Tehran responsible if the Houthis continue to fire on shipping in the Red Sea.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said the Iran-backed Houthi rebels had acted “very responsibly” since the U.S. launched a major campaign against the group last year, but their conduct changed after the Houthis claimed responsibility for attacking two Saudi oil tankers overnight.

“A year ago the United States of America attacked, very powerfully, the Houthis, for their interference with commerce and trade, by shooting at ships,” Trump wrote. “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.”

Trump added that he was “very disappointed” with the Houthis after saying they had “until now, acted very professionally and smart.”

The warning came after the Houthis announced they had struck two Saudi oil tankers as part of what they described as a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia.

One vessel transmitted a distress call after it was hit by a missile near the Saudi port of Jizan, while Saudi state media said the attack sparked a fire aboard the ship.

The attacks threaten to create a second major chokepoint for global energy supplies alongside the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has targeted commercial shipping for weeks.

Shipping analysts warned that sustained Houthi attacks near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait could further disrupt global trade and push energy prices higher.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that Tehran would continue paying a steep price until it agrees to a lasting peace arrangement.

“Iran is begging for a deal every day,” Rubio told reporters during a diplomatic summit in Southeast Asia. “The problem with Iran is every time they make a deal … they either break it or they want to change it.”

Rubio also argued the Houthis had been manipulated by Tehran, saying the militant group had been “snookered into this.”

The latest escalation follows Trump’s warning a day earlier that the United States would destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant every time Tehran attacked a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, U.S. military operations against Iran continued overnight, as Iranian forces reportedly launched additional attacks against U.S. positions and infrastructure in neighboring countries.

The widening conflict has rattled energy markets, with Brent crude climbing sharply as traders weigh the growing risk to two of the world’s most important maritime oil routes.

The Trump administration has maintained that sustained military pressure is necessary to protect freedom of navigation, defend U.S. forces and allies, and bring Iran back to the negotiating table.

Reuters contributed to this report.