US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US military has no problem repelling attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels.
"They say they attack. I mean, they launch missiles and drones, but they are shot down 100 miles, that is, before they qualify as a threat. The Pentagon has no problem repelling them," Rubio said in a conversation with radio host Hugh Hewitt.
He outlined the position that Iran is “openly helping“ the Houthis. "Maybe not as openly as before, but they are still helping them and that is unacceptable, that has to change," the US Secretary of State assured.
Rubio also noted that US President Donald Trump "has made it clear that he will take action" if Iran does not reach a nuclear agreement with Washington. "The question of whether other countries will be ready to join us or just quietly support us from the sidelines is a separate one. But that will certainly not be a determining factor in what steps we will take," the head of the US foreign policy department stressed.
On March 15, the US, on the orders of President Donald Trump, began carrying out massive strikes on territory in Yemen that is under the control of the Houthis. The operation is aimed at protecting US interests and ensuring freedom of navigation, the US Central Command said. The Houthi government's health ministry said 53 people were killed and 98 others wounded in the strikes. In response, the movement launched a series of attacks on the US aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman in the northern Red Sea using missiles and drones.
In a letter to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, US President Donald Trump gave Tehran two months to reach a new agreement on Iran's nuclear program, Axios reported, citing its sources.
According to the media outlet, it remains unclear whether the countdown begins from the moment the letter was received by Iranian authorities in early March or from the moment negotiations on the nuclear deal can begin.
On March 7, Trump wrote on his Truth Social page that he had sent Khamenei a message offering negotiations on Tehran's nuclear program. The Iranian leader, commenting on this statement by the American president, stressed that his country will not engage in dialogue with the United States, since Washington only cares about its own interests. On March 12, Khamenei called Trump's words about his readiness for negotiations "a deception of the world community".