A Foolish Threat of 'Dire' Consequences for Iran

The U.S. shouldn’t even be bombing Yemen, much less threatening to attack Iranian targets as well.

The president keeps threatening to attack Iran:

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he would hold Iran responsible for any attacks carried out by the Houthi group that it backs in Yemen, as his administration expanded the biggest U.S. military operation in the Middle East since Trump returned to the White House.

Trump’s threat is foolish and irresponsible for a few reasons. The U.S. shouldn’t even be bombing Yemen, much less threatening to attack Iranian targets as well. Threatening Iran with reprisals in response to Houthi attacks wrongly asumes that the Iranian govermment can reliably rein the Houthis in. While Iran has influence with the Houthis, it does not control them and the Houthi leadership has ignored their advice in the past. The president’s threat also risks expanding the unnecessary conflict in Yemen and provoking retaliation against U.S. ships and bases in the region. If Trump follows through on the threat, he will be miring the U.S. in more Middle Eastern conflicts and exposing his “peacemaker” rhetoric as the nonsense that it has always been.