Hegseth says Iran flouted US ultimatum on helping Houthis, vows payback

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday said Iran had continued to support Yemen's armed Houthi movement despite an explicit warning from Washington and vowed unspecified consequences for Tehran.

Pete Hegseth wrote on X: "Message to IRAN: We see your LETHAL support to The Houthis. We know exactly what you are doing. You know very well what the US Military is capable of — and you were warned."

"You will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing."

Hegseth also reposted a message from Donald Trump from March in which the US president said he would hold Iran responsible for any attacks carried out by the Houthis.

Iran maintains that it does not direct the Houthi actions in the Red Sea region. However, Yemen’s Houthis began targeting international commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called on Muslim nations to blockade Israeli trade in November 2023.

In March, Khamenei responded to the same threats of retaliation for Houthi actions from US President Donald Trump. "The Yemeni nation has its own motivation and the resistance groups in the region have their own motivations. Iran doesn't need proxies," Khamenei said.

The blockade began with the aim of forcing Israel into a ceasefire but has since led to 174 attacks on the US Navy and 145 attacks on global shipping, according to the US State Department.

The US leads a coalition of over 20 nations against Houthi attacks on shipping, spearheading direct strikes on the group's infrastructure in Yemen, sometimes with British forces.

Since escalating strikes against the Houthis in March, the US has targeted over 1,000 sites. To bolster its presence in the Middle East, the US military has recently increased its assets, including the deployment of six B-2 bombers to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, a location experts consider strategically advantageous for operations in the region.

Additionally, the US currently maintainstwo aircraft carriers in the Middle East and has redeployed air defense systems from Asia to the area.

The US defense chief's warning comes amid US-Iran nuclear talks, the fourth round of which is due to take place this weekend.