Trump says Houthis acting ‘very badly’ amid intensifying attacks

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday denounced continued attacks by Houthis against Saudi Arabia, Anadolu reports.

Asked if the US had made a decision to strike Houthi targets, Trump avoided a direct response when speaking to reporters before departing on a campaign trip to Alaska.

“They’re behaving very badly,” he said.

Trump later posted on his Truth Social repeating his comments about Houthis and said: “The Houthis are behaving very badly.”

“I thought they learned their lesson a year ago when we bombed the HELL out of them and, at their request, stopped,” he said.

Trump said the group had been “silent for a long time” but has “emerged again, probably at the behest of Iran,” which he described as a “Failing Nation,” while hitting Saudi Arabia and “purposefully trying to drive up Oil Prices, probably prior to the U.S. Elections.”

READ: Americans urged to reconsider travel to Saudi Arabia over Iranian, Houthi attack threats

“Somebody should explain to them that I’m not running in the Elections, I’ve already won, IN A MASSIVE LANDSLIDE, but I’ll be there after the Elections, and I will never forget!” he said.

Trump’s comments come amid a broader escalation in Yemen between government forces, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, and the Houthis.

Yemeni government forces launched the “Dawn of Yemen” operation earlier this month to recapture Houthi-held areas and restore government control.

The Houthis have controlled the capital, Sanaa, and several provinces since 2014. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government. The current escalation began in July as a 2022 truce broke down.

The rebel group has also targeted Saudi energy and other sites, most recently an airport in Riyadh that killed 12.

READ: Death toll from Riyadh airport attack rises to 13 as Indian national succumbs to injuries