Iran Condemns US Airstrikes in Yemen, Urges End to Killing of Yemeni People

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, has called on the US to “stop the killing of Yemeni people,” following large-scale strikes against the Houthis in Yemen by the US.

“The United States government has no authority or business dictating Iranian foreign policy,” the minister wrote on X in response to the US strikes, adding that “more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed, and the world holds America fully accountable. End support for Israeli genocide and terrorism. Stop the killing of Yemeni people.”

On March 16, US President Donald Trump stated that the US conducted “decisive and powerful” air strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen in response to their attacks on Red Sea shipping.

“Funded by Iran, the Houthi thugs have fired missiles at US aircraft and targeted our troops and allies,” Trump said on social media, adding that their “piracy, violence, and terrorism” had cost “billions” and put lives at risk.

Trump also warned Iran to stop supporting the Houthis or “America will hold you fully accountable, and we won’t be nice about it!”

The Houthi-run health authorities reported at least 31 deaths and 101 injuries from the US strikes. The Houthis later vowed to continue targeting Israeli ships passing through the Red and Arabian Seas until Israel lifts its Gaza blockade, and to retaliate for the strikes.

The Houthis have condemned the US and the UK for their strikes, though the UK did not participate in the US strikes, but did provide routine refueling support for the US.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baqai also condemned the attack and called the “US and UK military aggression” against Yemen a “gross violation of the principles of the UN Charter and the fundamental rules of international law.”

Iran recognizes the Houthis as the legitimate government of Yemen while denying that it arms them. Iranian officials typically meet with Houthi representatives during their visits to Oman.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry also announced on March 16 that Araghchi traveled to Muscat to meet his Omani counterpart Badr al-Busaidi to discuss the “recent criminal attacks” on Yemen by the US.

On the same day, Commander-in-Chief of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Maj Gen Hossein Salami, also rejected Trump’s accusations of Iran supporting Yemeni attacks on international shipping lines and emphasized that Ansarallah (the Houthis) is independent and “makes its own strategic decisions.”

“The Islamic Republic of Iran clearly and openly takes responsibility for whatever it does, and there is no reason for us to do something and not take responsibility for it,” the commander said.

Yemen’s Houthis, Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and pro-Iranian Iraqi Shia militias are part of the “Axis of Resistance,” a network of Iran’s allied groups and proxies in the Middle East.