2 min readNew DelhiJul 21, 2026 09:52 PM IST
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissed the threat of Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels threatening to impose a blockade on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, saying that if the militant group takes action, the United States “will just have to take care of business.”
Talking to reporters at the Oval Office, the US President said, “So far, it hasn’t happened. Might happen, but we take care of things. We’ve done that with the Houthis before, and we haven’t heard from them in a while since we did what we did originally.”
Red Sea blockade could disrupt global energy supplies
If a naval blockade is implemented in the Red Sea, it could potentially open up a new front in the United States’ war with Iran, and would also further reduce the supply of oil and gas from the West Asia region.
In a broadcast message relayed on Monday, Yemen-based Houthi rebels warned Saudi Arabia’s ships to avoid using the Red Sea for transiting the strategic waterway. The development has already started impacting shipping and leaving corporations anxious, CNN reported, citing a risk manager for a Fortune 500 company.
Trump points to ‘45 days of powerful action’
Trump did not provide a detailed roadmap as to how the US forces would respond if the Houthis plan to shut the Red Sea for commercial ships, but rather highlighted America’s previous strikes on the group.
“It was about 45 days of very powerful action we took against the Houthis, and we’ve had no problem with the Houthis,” Trump said, adding, “They’ve had no problem with us for a long period of time, including during this conflict.”
Houthi-Iran ties remain under spotlight
In early July, a delegation from Houthis attended the funeral for Iran’s slain supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a joint US-Israeli operation in February when the war broke out with Iran.
Story continues below this ad
When the Houthi delegation returned from the funeral, Yemen’s government tried to block their Iranian flight from landing in Sanaa, triggering the rebels to accuse Saudi Arabia of bombing the runway.
Stay updated with the latest – Click here to follow us on Instagram
