07/23/2026July 23, 2026
Houthis “intervened” in US-Iran conflict – Rubio
Rubio accused Iran of violating previous agreements with the United States, saying Tehran “will pay the price for this.”Image: Brendan Smialowski/Pool AFP/AP Photo/dpa/picture Alliance
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he believes Tehran tricked Yemen’s Houthi rebels into joining the conflict with the United States.
“The Houthis have mostly been smart and stayed out of it all throughout the conflict, but now they’ve obviously gotten into it by going after Saudi Arabia and their ships,” Rubio told reporters on the sidelines of a summit of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN in Manila, Philippines.
“I hope they de-escalate the situation because, frankly, I think the Iranians brought the Houthis into this,” he said.
The militant group controls much of Yemen’s most populous areas, including the capital Sanaa, and is allied with Iran. It has already begun threatening merchant ships in the Red Sea in response to Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip in 2023.
The Houthi rebel group is a longtime ally of Iran.Image: Khaled Abdullah/REUTERS
The senior US official also accused Iran of violating its commitments in the peace talks.
“These people make deals and then almost immediately break them or decide, ‘Oh, let’s change the deal.’ That’s not how deals work,” he said.
“So now they’re paying for it. And perhaps they will change their minds here over the next few days as they continue to suffer heavy losses,” Rubio added.
He said he believed Iran was not yet ready for an agreement with Washington, but said it could be soon and also reiterated the U.S. position that Iran must be “nuclear-free.” Iran maintains its nuclear program is solely for civilian purposes.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump said the previous ceasefire agreement with Iran was “over”.