Russia Urges US to Halt Yemen Strikes, Engage in Dialogue

A ship fires missiles at an undisclosed location, after US President Donald Trump launched military strikes against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday over the militias' attacks against Red Sea shipping, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released on March 15, 2025. (US Central Command/Handout via Reuters)
A ship fires missiles at an undisclosed location, after US President Donald Trump launched military strikes against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday over the militias' attacks against Red Sea shipping, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released on March 15, 2025. (US Central Command/Handout via Reuters)
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Russia Urges US to Halt Yemen Strikes, Engage in Dialogue

A ship fires missiles at an undisclosed location, after US President Donald Trump launched military strikes against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday over the militias' attacks against Red Sea shipping, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released on March 15, 2025. (US Central Command/Handout via Reuters)
A ship fires missiles at an undisclosed location, after US President Donald Trump launched military strikes against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday over the militias' attacks against Red Sea shipping, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released on March 15, 2025. (US Central Command/Handout via Reuters)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged the United States to cease strikes against Yemen's Houthi militias, the foreign ministry said on Sunday.

Lavrov spoke to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio by telephone, the ministry said.

"In response to the American representative's arguments, Sergei Lavrov stressed the need for an immediate cessation of the use of force and the importance for all sides to engage in political dialogue in order to find a solution that would prevent further bloodshed," the ministry said.

US President Donald Trump launched large-scale military strikes against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday over the militias’ attacks against Red Sea shipping, killing at least 31 people at the start of a campaign expected to last many days.



Trump Warns Iran It Will Face ‘Consequences’ of Further Attacks from Yemen’s Houthis

A man inspects the rubble of a house hit by a US strike on the weekend in Yemen's northern Saada province on March 17, 2025. (AFP)
A man inspects the rubble of a house hit by a US strike on the weekend in Yemen's northern Saada province on March 17, 2025. (AFP)
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Trump Warns Iran It Will Face ‘Consequences’ of Further Attacks from Yemen’s Houthis

A man inspects the rubble of a house hit by a US strike on the weekend in Yemen's northern Saada province on March 17, 2025. (AFP)
A man inspects the rubble of a house hit by a US strike on the weekend in Yemen's northern Saada province on March 17, 2025. (AFP)

US President Donald Trump on Monday explicitly linked the actions of Yemen's Houthi militias to their main benefactor, Iran, warning Tehran would “suffer the consequences” for further attacks by the militants.

The comments by Trump on his Truth Social website escalate his administration's new campaign of airstrikes targeting the militias, which killed at least 53 people this weekend alone and appear poised to continue. Meanwhile, Iran continues to weigh how to respond to a letter Trump sent them last week trying to jump-start negotiations over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.

Houthi supporters themselves rallied in several cities Monday after the strikes, vowing revenge against America and Israel over blocking aid to the Gaza Strip after its war on Hamas there.

“The Yemeni position is an irreversible position (regarding Gaza), so do whatever you (Americans) want, for we are men who fear no one but God," said Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a Houthi leader who spoke to the demonstration in Yemen's Houthi-held capital, Sanaa.

Describing the Houthis as “sinister mobsters and thugs,” Trump warned any attack by the militias would be met with “great force, and there is no guarantee that that force will stop there.”

“Iran has played ‘the innocent victim’ of rogue terrorists from which they’ve lost control, but they haven’t lost control,” Trump alleged in his post. “They’re dictating every move, giving them the weapons, supplying them with money and highly sophisticated Military equipment, and even, so-called, 'Intelligence.'”

It's unclear what sparked Trump's post. However, the head of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard sought to separate the Houthis' actions from those of Tehran this weekend. The Houthis also launched drones and missiles targeting the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, though none reached the ship as it continues flight operations in the region.

Iran did not immediately comment on the post.

“Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire!” Trump added.

The Houthis attacked over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, from November 2023 until January this year when a ceasefire began in Gaza.

The Houthis claimed there had been additional US airstrikes overnight, though American officials did not immediately acknowledge them.

World Food Program warehouse raided by Houthis

In Saada province, the Houthis' stronghold, the militias raided a warehouse run by the World Food Program. A member of Yemen's legitimate government first reported the Houthis had been taking supplies from the facility without the WFP's permission in the aftermath of the US airstrikes. The United Nations agency later acknowledged the Houthis' actions to The Associated Press.

“WFP regrets the de facto authorities' decision to seize some of the commodities,” it said. “These commodities were intended for the most vulnerable food-insecure families. Only WFP and its partners have the authority to distribute them and ensure they reach the intended recipients.”

Yemen, at war since the Houthis seized Sanaa back in 2014, has been on the precipice of famine for years. But the UN in February suspended its operations in Saada over security concerns following the detentions by the Houthis of dozens of UN workers and others in recent months. A day later, the WFP announced one of its staffers died while imprisoned by the Houthis.