US President Donald Trump has warned that his country will hold Iran responsible for attacks on commercial vessels by Yemen’s Houthis.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump recalls American strikes on the Houthis last year “for their interference with commerce and trade, by shooting at ships”.

“Since that time, and during our conflict with Iran, they have acted very responsibly. Unfortunately, now they are starting up again, shooting at two Saudi Arabian ships last night,” he writes.

“Please let this truth (social media post) serve to represent that if they do this again, the US 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, who I am very disappointed with in that they have, until now, acted very professionally and smart,” he adds.