Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at a press conference in Tehran on Feb. 25, 2025. (Atta Kenare / AFP)
Iran will retaliate against any attack, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned Sunday, following threats from U.S. President Donald Trump over Tehran’s support for Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The United States launched airstrikes Saturday against the Houthis, who control large parts of Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa. Trump called on Iran to “immediately” halt its support for the Houthis. “America will hold you fully accountable, and we won’t be nice about it!” Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social. “Iran does not seek war, but if anyone threatens us, we will respond with appropriate, decisive, and conclusive action,” Iranian Gen. Hossein Salami said in a statement broadcast on state television.
Iran rejects US pressure
The United States has “no right to dictate Iran’s foreign policy,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Parts of his message were written in capital letters, a style reminiscent of Trump’s online statements.
The Houthis, who receive financial and military support from Iran, are part of Tehran’s so-called "axis of resistance," an informal alliance of regional armed groups opposed to Israel, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. However, Salami insisted that the Houthis operate independently. “They make their own strategic and operational decisions,” he said, calling them “representatives of the Yemeni people.”
US strikes condemned
The U.S. airstrikes killed at least 31 people and injured 101, according to the Yemeni rebel Health Ministry. Iran condemned the attack as “barbaric,” stating that it caused “dozens of casualties,” including “innocent Yemeni women and children.”
Tensions amid nuclear talks
The latest exchange of threats between Tehran and Washington comes as Trump signals openness to negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.
However, the U.S. president has simultaneously tightened sanctions on Iran and renewed the threat of military action as part of his “maximum pressure” strategy, first implemented during his previous term (2017-2021). Trump’s first administration was also marked by the U.S. drone strike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani in 2020. Soleimani, one of Iran’s top military leaders, was targeted in Iraq as the architect of Iran’s regional military operations.
