President Donald Trump put both Iran and its proxy, the Houthi terrorists in Yemen, on notice Monday that “real pain is yet to come” if they continue to attack U.S. ships and otherwise threaten freedom of navigation around the Red Sea.
“The Iran-backed Houthi Terrorists have been decimated by the relentless strikes over the past two weeks. Many of their Fighters and Leaders are no longer with us. We hit them every day and night — Harder and harder,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“Their capabilities that threaten Shipping and the Region are rapidly being destroyed. Our attacks will continue until they are no longer a threat to Freedom of Navigation,” he continued.
The president concluded, “The choice for the Houthis is clear: Stop shooting at U.S. ships, and we will stop shooting at you. Otherwise, we have only just begun, and the real pain is yet to come, for both the Houthis and their sponsors in Iran.”
The Iran-backed Houthi Terrorists have been decimated by the relentless strikes over the past two weeks. Many of their Fighters and Leaders are no longer with us. We hit them every day and night — Harder and harder. Their capabilities that threaten Shipping and the Region are…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) March 31, 2025
On Tuesday, Trump also posted, “My telephone call with President [Abdel Fattah] El-Sisi, of Egypt, went very well. We discussed numerous topics, among which was the tremendous Military progress we have made against the Ship destroying Houthis in Yemen.”
Egypt controls the Suez Canal, through which Red Sea shipping passes.
🌊Red Sea
👉🏻Location: It is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and
Asia.👉🏻 Locational Feature: Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. pic.twitter.com/OfEY4mHuDh
— UPSC Map (@UPSC_MAP) April 4, 2024
If Iran’s fingerprints are found on a single Houthi munition that touches American property or people, should Trump militarily crush Iran?
Reuters reported last month that the monthly losses to Egypt from reduced traffic through the Suez Canal reached $800 million and resulted in $7 billion in lost revenue in 2024.
The New York Times reported in January that Houthis have carried out some 130 attacks on commercial ships since the Oct. 7, 2023, strike by Hamas against Israel, which sparked a war between the two.
Most ships have been avoiding the Red Sea and going around the tip of Africa to get from Asia to Europe, adding approximately 3,500 miles and 10 days to their route and causing a sharp rise in the cost of the goods being shipped.
Last month, the U.S. military appeared to be gearing up for a major operation in the Middle East, likely against the Houthis and maybe Iran. Reports suggest that there are already at least five B-2 bombers on the island of Diego Garcia, the joint United Kingdom-U.S. base in the Indian Ocean.
A significant buildup is happening in Diego Garcia
At least 5 USAF B-2 Spirits and 7 C-17A Globemaster IIIs have arrived over the last 3 days, or are currently en route to the island.
For reference: Diego Garcia is the red pin on the map. https://t.co/jLcWeqd24m pic.twitter.com/Ei3bpKHosm
— TheIntelFrog (@TheIntelFrog) March 25, 2025
In addition to B2 bombers, “Satellite imagery posted on social media shows three C-17 cargo planes and 11 KC-135 refueling tankers deployed to Diego Garcia in the past 48 hours, reinforcing its role as a U.S. staging ground. The buildup coincides with intensified U.S. strikes on the Houthis and growing warnings to Iran,” Newsweek noted last week.
Further, Politico reported that Trump sent a second aircraft carrier group to the region to augment the USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group, which is currently operating in the Red Sea. Its deployment has been extended by at least a month, two defense officials told the outlet.
Meanwhile, the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group is on its way to the region after conducting exercises in the East China Sea with the Japanese and South Koreans.
In a Truth Social post last month, Trump argued that the hundreds of attacks being made by the Houthis “all emanate from, and are created by Iran.”
Breaking | Trump threatens Iran: “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!” pic.twitter.com/EUt9KnhuG6
— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) March 17, 2025
“Any further attack or retaliation by the ‘Houthis’ will be met with great force, and there is no guarantee that that force will stop there. Iran has played ‘the innocent victim’ of rogue terrorists from which they’ve lost control, but they haven’t lost control. They’re dictating every move, giving them the weapons, supplying them with money,” the president continued.
“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!” he promised.
Based on the U.S. build-up in the region, Trump intends to back up his words with action and cause some “real pain.”
He and his national security team are acting decisively to re-establish the deterrence lost during the Joe Biden years.
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