Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has sent a stern message to Iran over the Islamic Republic’s backing of Houthi terrorists.
On Wednesday night, Hegseth warned the country that it will pay consequences for its “LETHAL” support of the terrorist organization.
“We see your LETHAL support to The Houthis,” Hegseth said in a post on X.
“We know exactly what you are doing.
“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.”
Message to IRAN:
We see your LETHAL support to The Houthis. We know exactly what you are doing.
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.
— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) May 1, 2025
The Pentagon chief’s post warning of military force is unusual for a defense secretary to make, especially so explicitly.
However, it appears to be in response to an incident earlier this week in the Red Sea.
The attack caused a U.S. fighter jet to fall off an aircraft carrier.
On Monday, a Houthi drone forced the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier to make an evasive maneuver.
The maneuver caused a $67 million F-18 Super Hornet fighter jet and a tow tractor to fall off the carrier and into the Red Sea.
The plane was actively under tow in a hangar bay when the crew lost control of the aircraft.
Both the jet and tow went overboard and were lost in the sea, the Navy said.
The aircraft carrier has been operating in the Red Sea since September.
The vessel has launched strikes against Houthi terrorists in Yemen.
The Iran-funded terrorist group claimed it had attacked the USS Harry S. Truman and its accompanying warships in recent weeks.
The group also attacked merchant vessels sailing in the area.
President Donald Trump elevated a military campaign against the terrorist group on March 15.
Airstrikes have been launched against Houthi targets every day since then.
After his post on Wednesday, Hegseth then reposted a Truth Social post by Trump from March 17.
https://t.co/DKl55mmFaT pic.twitter.com/vsVttencfH
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) May 1, 2025
“Let nobody be fooled!” Trump posted.
“The hundreds of attacks being made by Houthi, the sinister mobsters and thugs based in Yemen, who are hated by the Yemeni people, all emanate from, and are created by, IRAN.
“Any further attack or retaliation by the ‘Houthis’ will be met with great force, and there is no guarantee that the 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 said.
“They’re dictating every move, giving them the weapons, supplying them with money and highly sophisticated Military equipment, and even, so-called, ‘Intelligence.’
“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!”
