ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Thursday released a truculent post on X that warned the Iranian government that the US military would make Tehran feel the consequences over their support to Houthi rebels in Yemen.

In the X post, which began with “Message to IRAN,” Hegseth said, “We see your LETHAL support to The Houthis. We know exactly what you are doing.”

He added, “You know very well what the U.S. Military is capable of — and you were warned. You will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing.”

The Defense Secretary’s words come after the administration of US President Donald Trump has escalated a campaign against the Houthis, with a Pentagon statement on Wednesday informing that over 1,000 targets have been hit since the offensive started in earnest in mid-March.

The US has cited the recurrent targeting of international shipping by the Houthis as a justification for its campaign.

However, the near-daily strikes have faced criticism from the international community, with a UN spokesperson saying the organization is "deeply alarmed" in the wake of a recent strike on a migrant detention center the killed 68 people, many of whom were African migrants seeking to traverse the war-torn country for a better quality of life in the Gulf.

The Trump administration has repeatedly linked the targeting of Houthi forces with a “maximum pressure” campaign being taken against Iran, a vital ally of the rebels, in an attempt to apply pressure to Tehran amid official negotiations regarding its nuclear program.

Hegseth has previously been immersed in controversy relating to US operations in Yemen, with plans for airstrikes on Houthi targets—including the times and locations of strikes—being discussed by him on the messaging app Signal with those without authorized clearance, including his wife.

He had previously faced backlash after a journalist was inadvertently added to one of the group chats discussing strike plans.

Such a bellicose and direct message will likely complicate matters during the fourth round of nuclear talks between Iran and the US in Rome on Saturday, with Iranian officials previously having expressed wariness regarding contradictory US statements and inconsistency.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi criticized the US for giving “mixed signals” in what it aspired to achieve from nuclear talks and balked at American threats of military action.

In late March, Trump threatened that if Tehran fails to reach an agreement on the nuclear issue, “there will be bombing. It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before.”