US President Donald Trump warned that Washington would respond if Houthi rebels in Yemen decided to block maritime traffic in the Red Sea, following threats of a naval blockade that could affect one of the most important global shipping routes.
Speaking from the Oval Office before meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Trump was asked by reporters about the Houthis' announcement of a possible naval blockade near the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
"So far, that hasn't happened. It could happen, but we take care of things. If something like that happens, we'll deal with it," Trump declared.
The US president added that relations between the US and the Houthis have not been problematic recently.
"We have not had a problem with the Houthis. They have not had a problem with us for a long period of time, including during this conflict," he said.
During his statement, Trump also touched on the situation in Lebanon, emphasizing that the US will continue to support the country in efforts to end tensions between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel.
"We're going to help Lebanon a lot. We're going to solve a lot of problems. We've solved some of them already. There's a problem with Hezbollah, but we've done some things that I think the world will notice. Lebanon has been a very mistreated country, and we're going to treat it with the respect that it deserves," Trump said.
