President Donald Trump announced yesterday the US will stop bombing the Houthis in Yemen, saying that the Iran-aligned group had agreed to stop interrupting important shipping lanes in the Middle East.
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.
Under the agreement, neither the US nor the Houthis would target the other, including US vessels in the Red Sea and Bab Al Mandab Strait, Oman said in a statement.
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 US halt of ‘aggression’ against Yemen would be evaluated, according to a post on X.
The US intensified strikes on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis this year, to stop attacks on Red Sea shipping. Rights activists have raised concerns over civilian casualties.
“They said please don’t bomb us any more and we’re not going to attack your ships,” Trump said of the Houthis during an Oval Office meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
“And I will accept their word, and we are going to stop the bombing of the Houthis effective immediately.”
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