Trump Threatens "Massive Attack" on Iran Amid Red Sea Tensions

Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he is close to deciding whether to launch "a massive attack" against Iran.

In an interview with Axios, Trump said he is "considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before", adding that Israel "would join in two minutes if I ask them to."

Meanwhile, the US State Department advised citizens in the Middle East to prepare for possible flight cancellations and other disruptions to air travel linked to the war with Iran.

Earlier in the day, Trump threatened the Houthis with "major military punishment" after the Tehran-backed militant group in Yemen claimed on Thursday they struck two Saudi oil tankers transiting through the Red Sea.

"The US will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a surrogate and/or proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis themselves" should the rebels launch further attacks, Trump said on his Truth Social network.

Trump said earlier this week the US would "take care" of the Houthis if shipping and energy exports came into peril by a potential blockade of the Bab el-Mandeb, the narrow gateway to the Red Sea through which around 12% of the world's trade — including a fourth of global container traffic — usually passes.

Earlier this week, the Houthis — officially known as Ansar Allah — said they had closed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Saudi-linked shipping in retaliation for the kingdom’s blockade on Yemen and a recent attack on the international airport in Yemen’s rebel-held capital, Sana'a.

The group wrote on Telegram on Thursday that they had "carried out a qualitative military operation targeting two Saudi oil tankers that violated the blockade", naming the vessels as the Encelia and the Layla.

Saudi's state-run news agency reported a fire on a tanker in the Red Sea following an attack, as did the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre. No casualties were reported.

At least nine tankers have changed course after the Houthi blockade announcement, according to maritime data, including three vessels that had taken on oil at Saudi Arabia's Red Sea terminal in Yanbu.

The closure of Bab el-Mandeb would force vessels to take the much longer route around the Cape of Good Hope, adding two to three weeks to journeys between Asia and Europe.

Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group, said the threat to Saudi Arabia also benefits the Houthis’ ally, Iran, at a time when the US has resumed daily airstrikes.

″From Iran’s perspective, opening additional pressure points across the region gives it more leverage,” Nagi said. “The Houthis provide Tehran with influence over one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints.”

Brussels blasts 'unacceptable' strikes

The Houthis, who came to power in late 2014 after storming Sana'a and seizing the presidential palace and key military sites, forcing Yemen's government into exile, are part of Tehran's so-called "Axis of Resistance".

The Axis is a network of militant groups in several countries in the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and militias in Iraq.

While the Houthis do not control the part of Yemen’s coastline along Bab el-Mandeb, they hold territory less than 100 kilometres away.

The Houthis have previously attacked over 100 vessels in the Red Sea at the height of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, before a punishing US-Israeli air campaign put an end to the attacks in early 2025.

Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas demanded on Thursday that the Houthis "cease" attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

"The attack on an oil tanker in the Red Sea is unacceptable, illegal and further inflames an already volatile situation in the region," Kallas said in a statement.

"The Houthis must cease all actions that endanger international shipping and the lives of seafarers," she added.

Kallas said an EU naval mission deployed in the Red Sea to help ships pass through the vital waterway "remains firmly committed to protecting freedom of navigation for all".

Iran and US threaten tit-for-tat strikes

The Houthis' claim on Thursday comes as the US announced a 12th consecutive night of strikes against targets in Iran.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that its forces had carried out strikes against multiple Iranian military targets on Wednesday night, including maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites, and air defence assets.

"The strikes further degrade Iran's ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial vessels," CENTCOM added.

The US also shared video footage on social media appearing to show the strikes.

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump took to Truth Social to threaten further retaliation against Tehran should its forces continue to target shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

"From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by missile, rocket, drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy one bridge or power plant, including those located next to, or in, the capital city of Tehran," he wrote.

Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has said Tehran would operate an "eye for an eye" policy.

"Any aggression against Iran, including our infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response," he wrote in a post on X.