Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued a warning to Iran on Wednesday night over the country’s support of the Houthis, an Islamic paramilitary organization based in Yemen.
The Houthis were designated as a foreign terrorist organization in March 2025 by the Trump administration.
Iran is suspected of funding and aiding the Houthis, an action that Hegseth cautioned would have dire consequences. The secretary of defense issued the warning in a post on X on Wednesday.
“Message to IRAN,” Hegseth began in his post. “We see your LETHAL support to The Houthis. We know exactly what you are doing.”
Hegseth then reminded Iran of the power and abilities of the U.S. military and told them that they ‘were warned’ and would endure the consequences for supporting the Houthis.
“You know very well what the U.S. Military is capable of — and you were warned,” Hegseth said in the post. “You will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing.”
On Monday, an F/A-18E Super Hornet engaged with a Houthi drone that some suspect eventually contributed to the mishap of the jet falling off the USS Harry S. Truman and into the Red Sea, the Washington Examiner previously reported.
“The F/A-18E was actively under tow in the hangar bay when the move crew lost control of the aircraft,” said Navy spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Lauren Chatmas about the loss of the jet. “The aircraft and tow tractor were lost overboard,” Chatmas added. “Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard.”
The Houthis claimed the attack by their drone was responsible for the loss of the jet.
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Hegseth’s posts would seem to suggest his message was in response to that event. Later, on his personal X account, Hegseth reposted a March Truth Social post by President Donald Trump in which the president also warned Iran of supporting the Houthis.
“The hundreds of attacks being made by Houthi, the sinister mobsters and thugs based in Yemen, who are hated by the Yemeni people, all emanate from, and are created by IRAN,” Trump said in the social media post. “Any further attack or retaliation by the “Houthis” will be met with great force and there is no guarantee the 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,” Trump added. “They’re dictating every move, giving them the weapons, supplying them with money, and highly sophisticated Military equipment, and even so-called, ‘Intelligence.’”