Morgan Ortagus, President Donald Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, detailed how the recent strikes on Yemen serve as a serious warning to Houthi “terrorists,” specifically to stop shooting at ships from the United States.
Trump revealed on Saturday night that he had ordered airstrikes on Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, to target Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, citing how the group’s strikes on merchant ships have cost both the U.S. and world economies “BILLIONS,” while also endangering lives. Ortagus compared and contrasted how Trump’s recent action is “very different” from the previous administration’s leadership since it is seeking to address the issue the Houthi rebels pose to trade, citing how the terrorist attacks have raised the costs on goods imported and exported from the U.S.
“So today, the president of the United States has effectively said ‘this is going to stop,’” Ortagus said on Fox News’s Fox and Friends Sunday. “Terrorists are not going to be allowed to shoot at U.S. Navy ships, to shoot at our soldiers, to shoot at our commercial vessels, to impede free and fair commerce and trade, and we’re going to put an end to that. So these are not the strikes from the Biden administration that were for show, this is a campaign to deter and stop the Houthis from attacking Americans.”
Orgatus continued by detailing that “unprecedented actions” by Houthi terrorists have taken place over the last four years and “especially” since the Hamas terrorist group’s attack on Israel in October 2023. As such, the U.S.’s recent strikes on Sanaa are a warning to Houthis and all terrorists in general: the U.S. “will punch back” if it is targeted since it is no longer under former President Joe Biden’s leadership.
Trump took a shot at his predecessor in his announcement on Saturday, claiming that Biden’s “pathetically weak” response to Houthis emboldened the group to continue its attacks. He added that further attacks on U.S. vessels “will not be tolerated” and “lethal force” will be used to achieve this.
TRUMP DECLARES INVASION BY TREN DE ARAGUA, ORDERS DEPORTATION OF ILLEGAL GANG MEMBERS
“To Iran: Support for the Houthi terrorists must end IMMEDIATELY!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Do NOT threaten the American People, their President, who has received one of the largest mandates in Presidential History, or Worldwide shipping lanes. If you do, BEWARE, because America will hold you fully accountable and, we won’t be nice about it!”
Trump’s bid to increase the safety of trading vessels comes as he is in an ongoing trade battle between the U.S. and Canada with tariffs, which Canada’s Ontario Premier Doug Ford has sought to cool down. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who met with Ford this past week, has predicted the U.S. economy will “be humming” by the fourth quarter of 2025 as the president seeks to balance the nation’s trade.