Iranian general responds to Trump threats against Houthi rebels
An Iranian general vowed to respond "decisively and destructively" to any threats after President Donald Trump said he ordered American forces to launch military action against Houthis in Yemen.
"We warn our enemies that Iran will respond decisively and destructively if they carry out their threats," Gen. Hossein Salami, the leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, told state media following U.S. strikes over the weekend against the Tehran-backed terrorist group, according to Reuters.
"We are not a nation to live in hiding. We are a valid and legitimate system in the world. We announce it if we attack anywhere," Salami was quoted as saying by ABC News.
U.S. Central Command said Saturday it had "initiated a series of operations consisting of precision strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets across Yemen to defend American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation."
US MILITARY SHOOTS DOWN HOUTHI DRONES AS TRUMP’S STRIKES AGAINST TERRORIST GROUP CONTINUE
Trump wrote on Truth Social Saturday that he "ordered the United States Military to launch decisive and powerful Military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen."
"It has been over a year since a U.S.-flagged commercial ship safely sailed through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, or the Gulf of Aden," Trump continued. "The last American Warship to go through the Red Sea, four months ago, was attacked by the Houthis over a dozen times."
Trump wrote that the "relentless assaults have cost the U.S. and World Economy many BILLIONS of Dollars while, at the same time, putting innocent lives at risk."
"To all Houthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY. IF THEY DON’T, HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE!" his post concluded.
The large-scale campaign against Houthi targets in Yemen will be "unrelenting" until the Iran-backed proxies pledge to back off U.S. assets, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News on Sunday.
"The minute the Houthis say 'we'll stop shooting at your ships, we'll stop shooting at your drones,' this campaign will end, but until then, it will be unrelenting," he told "Sunday Morning Futures" host Maria Bartiromo.
The Houthis are claiming the recent U.S. strikes have killed at least 53 people and injured around 100, according to the Associated Press.
"We will confront escalation with escalation," the leader of the Houthis, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, reportedly said Sunday.
"We will respond to the American enemy in its raids, in its attacks, with missile strikes, by targeting its aircraft carrier, its warships, its ships," al-Houthi added. "However, we also still have escalation options. If it continues its aggression, we will move to additional escalation options."
U.S. warships have shot down roughly a dozen Houthi drones since Saturday, Fox News has learned.
A senior defense official told Fox News of the developments on Sunday. The drones were aimed at the U.S. Navy's Truman Carrier Strike Group and were shot down "well before" they posed a serious threat, the official said.
Fox News’ Taylor Penley, Andrea Margolis and Lucas Y. Tomlinson contributed to this report.