Trump accuses Houthis of trying to drive up oil prices before U.S. elections, says Iran is behind renewed attacks

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Yemen's Houthis were "behaving very badly" and accused them of deliberately trying to drive up oil prices ahead of the U.S. elections.

Writing on Truth Social, Trump said he believed the Houthis had "learned their lesson" after the United States heavily bombed them last year before halting the campaign following an agreement. He said the group had remained quiet for a long period but had now re-emerged, "probably at the behest of Iran," and was attacking Saudi Arabia.

Trump described Iran as a "failing nation" and said it had no navy or air force, the world's worst economy and inflation of 301%. The inflation figure was Trump's assertion.

Trump said the Houthis should be told that he is not running in the elections, adding that he had already won "in a massive landslide" and would still be in office afterward. "I will never forget," he wrote.

The remarks followed renewed Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, including a strike on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300. In May 2025, Oman mediated an agreement under which the United States stopped bombing the Houthis and the group agreed not to target U.S. vessels in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab.