Trump Says US Would Act if Houthis Block Red Sea, Signals More Strikes on Iran

"Iran wants talks with the US, but I'm not interested"

President Donald Trump said the US would respond militarily if Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels move to block the Red Sea, and he publicly raised the possibility of further strikes on Iran's underground nuclear facilities. The remarks increased pressure on both Middle East oil shipping lanes and Tehran's nuclear program.

Trump dismissed the Houthi threat in remarks reported by CNN and other media on July 21, saying, "If that happens, we'll handle it."

He said such a blockade has not happened so far, but added that it could and that the US would respond as it always has. Trump did not specify what form that response would take, though he referred to previous strikes.

"We took very strong action against the Houthis for about 45 days, and after that we had no problems with them," he said. "They have not caused any friction with us for quite a long time, including during this conflict."

The Houthis escalated tensions a day earlier by sending a warning message to Saudi ships passing through the Red Sea. The move appeared aimed at stirring concern over Middle East oil shipping routes, international shipping and companies.

Trump also signaled that the US could soon strike Iran's underground nuclear site known as Pickaxe Mountain. The facility is a fortified underground complex about a mile south of Natanz that Iran declared to the International Atomic Energy Agency as a site for assembling advanced centrifuges.

CNN, citing Israeli intelligence sources, reported that Iran moved some highly enriched uranium and advanced centrifuges to the site after last year's 12-day war. Trump disputed that account, saying there is no record that Iran moved the centrifuges. He said nuclear material is the key issue and that the US is tracking it.

"We'll hit that area very hard in the very near future," he said. "There's no way for Iran to stop it." Trump also said in a conservative radio interview last week that Pickaxe could be attacked soon.

"The United States is by no means finished with Iran," Trump said. He added that even if the US withdrew now, Iran would need 20 to 25 years to rebuild. On the US maritime blockade against Iran, he said no one can break through it and described it as "like a steel wall," adding that the blockade is being enforced perfectly.

Trump also said he would discuss with China his earlier allegations that Beijing interfered in the 2020 US presidential election. Asked about a fire at a federal building in New York the previous day, he said, "That is what the people we allowed into our country do. They are radical lunatics, and I will throw them out," suggesting the act was committed by immigrants.

Kang Kyung-ju, Hankyung.com reporter qurasoha@hankyung.com