President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday, that the United States will halt its bombing campaign against Yemen's Houthis, effective immediately. He said that the Iran-backed rebels have indicated they no longer wish to fight and have agreed to stop attacking ships in the Red Sea, a vital global trade route.
"The Houthis have announced that they don’t want to fight anymore. They just don’t want to fight. And we will honor that, and we will stop the bombings, and they have capitulated," Trump said during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office.
"They said please don't bomb us any more and we're not going to attack your ships," Trump said of the Houthis. "And I will accept their word, and we are going to stop the bombing of the Houthis effective immediately."
After taking office in January, the Trump administration intensified airstrikes on the Houthis; and warned Iran to end its support for the rebel group which has been in a protracted and devastating war against the recognized Saudi-backed Yemen government.
The U.S. military campaign came after the Houthis said they would resume attacks on Israeli ships passing through the Red Sea and Arabian Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden.
Since its Operation Rough Rider started on March 15, the U.S. military said it has struck more than 1,000 targets, and have killed thousands of Houthi fighters and "numerous Houthi leaders."
The Houthis have been firing at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea since Israel began its military offensive against Hamas in Gaza after the Palestinian militant group's deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Tensions have been high since the Gaza war began, but have risen further since a Houthi missile landed near Israel's Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday, prompting Israeli airstrikes on Yemen's Hodeidah port on Monday.
The Israeli military carried out more airstrikes on Yemen's main airport in Sanaa on Tuesday, its second attack in two days on the Houthi rebels.
Under the ceasefire agreement, The U.S. will stop its bombing campaign in response to the Houthis' pledge to stop targeting ships in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, Oman said in a statement.
Oman's foreign minister confirmed the ceasefire agreement, stating that it ensures "freedom of navigation and the smooth flow of international commercial shipping" in the Red Sea
After Trump made the announcement, Oman said it had mediated the ceasefire deal, marking a major shift in Houthi policy since the start of Israel's war in Gaza in October 2023.
The statement from Oman did not mention whether the Houthis had agreed to stop attacks on Israel. The head of Yemen's Houthi Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, said the group would continue to support Gaza and that such attacks would continue.
"To all Zionists from now on, stay in shelters or leave to your countries immediately as your failed government will not be able to protect you after today," Houthi-run Al Masirah TV cited him as saying.
Separately, the head of Yemen's Houthi supreme revolutionary committee, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, said the U.S. halt of "aggression" against Yemen would be evaluated, according to a post on X.
Israel has not been covered by the U.S.-Houthi agreement and continues to face attacks from the Houthis. Israeli officials were reportedly irked by the unexpected news of the ceasefire.
Trump has faced harsh criticisms at home recently from conservatives and his MAGA supporters for the continued bombing on the Houthis, which they say goes against the anti-war message he campaigned on during the presidential election last year. They argue that the U.S. must stop fighting Israel's wars in the middle east.
"I don’t think we should be bombing foreign countries on behalf of other foreign countries especially when they have their own nuclear weapons and massive military strength," Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a staunch Trump ally, said in part in a recent X post.
There have also been speculations that the Trump administration is irked by Israel's covert effort to undermine U.S. nuclear talks with Iran.
On April 29, an explosion at Iran's Shahid Rajaee port in Bandar Abbas killed at least 70 people and injured over 1,000, according to local sources.
The explosion is suspected to have been caused by a chemical fire that began in a shipping container, as confirmed by visual evidence and explosives experts Brig. Gen. (ret.). Amir Avivi, an Israeli military analyst, hinted at the Jewish state's involvement, suggesting that the attack was planned and targeted fuel for ballistic rockets.
The port is a critical hub for Iran's maritime exports and imports, particularly for oil-based products, industrial metals, and container shipments.
The incident has exposed vulnerabilities in Iran's critical infrastructure and raised concerns about the regime's competence and stability.
As of May 6, the investigation into the explosion is ongoing. Iranian officials have not officially confirmed the cause, but local reports increasingly point to a highly explosive cargo being delivered to the port.
The attack, if confirmed to be Israeli, could be part of a broader campaign to disrupt Iran's military capabilities and support for proxy groups like the Houthis in Yemen.
Israel's actions complicate US-Iran negotiations, leading many observers to argue that the latest end of U.S. bombing of the Houthis, may be Trump's way of warning the Jewish state against interference in U.S diplomatic effort.
"This is really crunch time" for Iran, Trump said Tuesday in the Oval Office, during the formal swearing in of his middle east envoy and special assistant Steve Witkoff who also reportedly helped in the negotiations with the Houthis. "I would say that this is the single most important period in the history of Iran, which is a long history. ... They're not going to have a nuclear weapon."
