by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday delivered a stern warning to Iran over its ongoing support for Yemen’s Houthi rebels, amid rising tensions in the region and the collapse of planned nuclear negotiations.
“Message to IRAN: We see your LETHAL support to The Houthis. We know exactly what you are doing,” Hegseth posted on X. “You know very well what the U.S. Military is capable of — and you were warned. You will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing.”
The warning follows a wave of U.S. airstrikes on Houthi targets. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Tuesday that U.S. Central Command has conducted more than 1,000 strikes since March 15, killing hundreds of fighters and degrading Houthi capabilities. President Donald Trump declared the Houthis would be “completely annihilated,” adding that Iranian support “won’t stop their destruction.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry hit back Thursday, with spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei saying, “The responsibility for the consequences and destructive effects of the contradictory behavior and provocative statements of American officials… will lie with the American side.”
Meanwhile, indirect U.S.-Iran nuclear talks have hit a roadblock. A fourth round of negotiations, initially set for this weekend in Rome, was postponed. Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi cited “logistical reasons,” while an Iranian official claimed the delay was at Oman’s request. A U.S. source told the Associated Press that Washington “had never confirmed its participation.”
President Trump, who reinstated harsh sanctions and pulled out of the Obama-era nuclear deal in 2018, warned last month, “I’m not asking for much … but they can’t have a nuclear weapon. If it requires military, we’re going to have military.”
The Houthis, officially called Ansar Allah, were returned to the U.S. foreign terrorist organization blacklist by Trump in March. The group, backed by Iran and rooted in the Zaydi Shi’ite sect, has waged war against Yemen’s government for decades and currently controls over a quarter of the country.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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