Trump says Huthis have 'capitulated,' US will stop bombing
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels have agreed to halt attacks on shipping, in a surprise announcement at the White House.
US President Donald Trump waits for the arrival of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House in Washington, DC, on 6 May 2025. Picture: Jim WATSON/AFP
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels have agreed to halt attacks on shipping, in a surprise announcement at the White House.
The Huthis began targeting vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in late 2023, claiming solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, which has been devastated by Israel's military after a shock Hamas attack that year.
"The Huthis have announced... that they don't want to fight anymore. They just don't want to fight. And we will honour that, and we will stop the bombings, and they have capitulated," Trump said.
"They say they will not be blowing up ships anymore, and that's... the purpose of what we were doing," the US president said, adding that the information came from a "very, very good source."
Attacks by the Huthis have prevented ships from passing through the Suez Canal - a vital route that normally carries about 12 percent of the world's shipping traffic.
The United States began carrying out strikes against the Huthis in early 2024 under president Joe Biden, and Trump's administration launched renewed attacks on the rebels starting on March 15.
The Pentagon said last week that US strikes had hit more than 1,000 targets in Yemen since mid-March in an operation that has been dubbed "Rough Rider."