Trump threatens Houthis with 'major military punishment'
- Ties US-Saudi nuclear programme to Riyadh's recognition of Israel via Abraham Accords amid escalating regional tensions
Donald Trump threatened Houthi rebels and Iran with military action over Red Sea attacks, while also conditioning a US-Saudi nuclear deal on Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords.
- Trump's threat of military punishment against Houthi rebels and Iran.
- US-Saudi civilian nuclear deal linked to Abraham Accords.
- Saudi Arabia's conditions for recognizing Israel.
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened Yemen’s Houthi rebels with “major military punishment” after they launched missile and drone strikes on oil tankers in the Red Sea.
“The U.S. 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 that a nuclear deal between the United States and Saudi Arabia was “totally subject” to Riyadh joining the Abraham Accords recognizing Israel.
Washington brokered the Abraham Accords during Trump’s first term, seeking to build bridges between Israel and the Arab world.
The deal to establish a civilian nuclear program in Saudi Arabia “will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords,” Trump said.
Saudi Arabia was engaged in tentative talks on normalizing ties with Israel in 2023, but abruptly pulled out as the Gaza war erupted.
It has said it would not recognize Israel without an independent Palestinian state.
Trump’s announcement came a day after the United States and Saudi Arabia announced a landmark deal that would establish a civilian nuclear program in the kingdom, but which critics fear could pave the way to enrichment and an atomic arms race.
The move comes as the United States fights a war with Iran that began in large part over concerns about Tehran’s nuclear program – still a key point of contention in now-stalled peace talks.
The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco are signatories to the Abraham Accords, establishing diplomatic, economic and security ties. A fourth country, Sudan, is yet to formalize relations. Non-Arab Kazakhstan – which already recognized Israel – agreed to join last November.