The Iran-backed Houthis will strike the United States and its interests across the region if Washington enters Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen. Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the group's political bureau, issued the warning to AFP on Monday after President Donald Trump said his administration was considering joining Saudi strikes on the group. Israel is also seeking a role in the same fight.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is working through US mediators to secure Saudi permission for Israeli strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, a diplomatic source told Haaretz on Monday. Under the plan, Israel would fight alongside the Saudis in the decade-old conflict and build on that cooperation toward a future normalization agreement. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who also serves as the kingdom's prime minister, has been reluctant to allow Israeli intervention.
Bukhaiti left no room for doubt about the group's response to American involvement.
"If the US becomes involved in the aggression against Yemen, we will not deliberate over the decision to respond; rather, there will be a swift and painful response targeting the US and all its interests in the region," Bukhaiti said.
He also urged workers at Saudi oil facilities and airports to keep away from those sites, which he declared "legitimate targets." The campaign, he said, was meant to show the crown prince "that he can no longer wage aggression against Yemen from a safe position."
