President Donald Trump threatened Iran with “major military punishment” after attacks on Saudi oil tankers helped send global crude prices soaring above $100 a barrel.
The unusual mix of praise and outrage came in a Truth Social post after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for striking two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, days after announcing a blockade of Saudi vessels near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a major global chokepoint between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa.
Trump said the United States would hold Iran responsible if the Houthis attack ships again.
“Major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves,” he wrote. He added that he was “very disappointed that they have, until now, acted very professionally and smart.”
The post appeared to reflect a White House trying to talk tough on Iran while simultaneously lamenting that the militant group had previously behaved in a way the president viewed as useful.
The market reaction was immediate. Brent crude briefly hit $100.14 a barrel, its highest level since May, before easing slightly, while West Texas Intermediate climbed nearly 5 percent to $90.98 a barrel.
The Houthis have repeatedly threatened to block the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a key shipping route linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Earlier this week, they announced a maritime blockade targeting Saudi ships, opening a new front in the widening Iran conflict.
Trump tried to frame the latest escalation as a betrayal of a group that had been relatively restrained since a U.S. campaign against the Houthis roughly a year ago.
“A year ago the United States of America attacked, very powerfully, the Houthis, for their interference with commerce and trade, by shooting at ships,” he wrote. “Since that time, and during our conflict with Iran, they have acted very responsibly.”
The threat did little to calm the broader regional picture. Iranian forces launched a drone attack on northern Kuwait on Thursday, according to the Kuwaiti Defense Ministry. The strike caused “material damage” at the Abdali border crossing with Iraq, though no injuries or deaths were reported.
Kuwait said its armed forces remain in a state of “ongoing readiness and constant preparedness to protect the nation’s borders.”
Other Gulf states hosting U.S. military bases, including Bahrain, have also come under repeated Iranian fire of late as Tehran escalated attacks on American-aligned targets.
