Iran warns of retaliation after US strikes on Houthis
Shafaq News/ On Sunday, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Commander, Hossein Salami, warned that Iran would retaliate against any attack in response to US President Donald Trump's threats following American airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.
Salami stated, according to Iranian state media, that the Houthis "make their own strategic and operational decisions."
Trump had previously warned the Houthis to cease their attacks or face "hell raining down upon them like nothing they have ever seen before." He also issued a stern warning to Iran, stating that if Tehran continues to support the Houthis, "the US will hold you fully responsible."
In response, Iran condemned the US airstrikes, calling them "barbaric." The strikes, which targeted Houthi positions in Yemen, reportedly killed at least 31 people, including women and children, according to the Houthi-run Ministry of Health. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismail Baghery denounced the strikes as a "flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter and international law."
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also rejected Trump's call for Iran to halt its support for the Houthis. "The US has no right to dictate Iran's foreign policy,” he wrote on X, calling for an end to the killing of Yemeni civilians.
The United States Government has no authority, or business, dictating Iranian foreign policy. That era ended in 1979.Biden was last year bamboozled into HANDING OVER UNPRECEDENTED 23 BILLION DOLLARS TO A GENOCIDAL REGIME. More than 60,000 Palestinians killed and the world…
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) March 16, 2025
Saturday's US airstrikes were part of a military action ordered by President Trump against the Houthis, who are backed by Tehran and control significant parts of Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa. These were the first US strikes on the Houthis since Trump took office in January 2025.
Since the outbreak of the Israeli-Gaza war in October 2023 which resulted in 61,709 deaths in the Strip, the Houthis have launched numerous drone and missile attacks on vessels en route to and from Israel in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, claiming these actions were in solidarity with Palestinians. In response, the US, UK, and Israel have carried out multiple military operations targeting Houthi positions in Yemen during the administration of former US President Joe Biden.
