Yemen’s Houthis vow to continue Red Sea attacks, defying Iran's plea for calm

Yemen's Houthi foreign minister said the group will not halt its Red Sea attacks on shipping, despite Iran's reported calls for de-escalation.

Jamal Amer told Reuters late on Monday that the Houthis would continue their actions despite US military strikes and requests from allies, including Iran.

"There will be no talk of any dialing down of operations before ending the aid blockade in Gaza. Iran is not interfering in our decision but what is happening is that it mediates sometimes but it cannot dictate things," Amer said.

This comes as two senior Iranian officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Tehran had delivered a verbal message to the Houthi envoy in Tehran on Friday, urging them to de-escalate. Amer said, however, that he had not been informed of any message Iran delivered to the Houthi envoy in Tehran.

Iran's Foreign Minister asked Oman, a known mediator with the Houthis, to convey a similar message during a visit to Muscat earlier this week, according to Reuters.

Iran has not made any public comment about recent outreach to the Houthis over their renewed action. Tehran says the group takes decisions independently, a statement echoed by the Houthis themselves.

"(The US) is threatening Iran and hitting Yemen. Now all scenarios are possible. We will do what they will do to us. If they are hitting us from (US aircraft carrier USS Harry S) Truman, we will retaliate by hitting Truman," the Houthi foreign minister said.

Amer acknowledged messages from other powers to de-escalate, but declared, "Now we see that Yemen is at war with the US and that means that we have a right to defend ourselves with all possible means, so escalation is likely."

US President Donald Trump warned Iran on Monday that it will be punished if its Yemeni allies the Houthis retaliate against a US air assault over the weekend, escalating his rhetoric against Tehran.

"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!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Trump on Saturday ordered large-scale military strikes against dozens of targets in Yemen controlled by Tehran-backed Houthi armed group, saying the attacks aimed at ensuring freedom of navigation through shipping lanes the militants have targeted.

Earlier this week, IRGC Commander Hossein Salami denied US accusations of Iranian control over the Houthis' actions.

"We have always declared, and we declare today, that the Yemenis are an independent and free nation in their own land and have an independent national policy," Salami said.

"Ansarullah, as the representative of the Yemenis, makes its own strategic decisions, and the Islamic Republic of Iran has no role in setting the national or operational policies of any movement in the resistance front, including Ansarullah in Yemen," he added.