President Trump abruptly announced on Tuesday that the United States would cease bombing the Houthi militia after he said the Iranian-backed group told the United States that “they don’t want to fight anymore.”
“They just don’t want to fight,” Mr. Trump said during a meeting with the Canadian prime minister in the Oval Office. “And we will honor that and we will stop the bombings. They have capitulated, but more importantly, we will take their word. They say they will not be blowing up ships anymore.”
After Mr. Trump’s remarks, Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti, a senior Houthi politician, said that if the United States halted its attacks on Yemen, the Houthis would halt their attacks on a smaller group: “American military fleets and interests.”
However, Mr. Al-Bukhaiti said the Houthis would continue military operations “in support of Gaza” until Israel lifts its siege on the enclave, “no matter the sacrifices, even if we have to fight until Judgment Day.”
His statement left unclear whether the Houthis would stop impeding international shipping, which had been the American bombing campaign’s objective. The Houthis have insisted that they would continue to hit Israel-linked ships, but in the past, the militia has targeted vessels with no obvious link to either Israel or the United States.
“I’m skeptical that the Houthis no longer want to fight,” said Gregory Johnsen, a former member of the United Nations Security Council’s Panel of Experts on Yemen. “The Houthis may have suggested or said privately that it would no longer target U.S. assets — although I’ve seen no evidence of that — but I doubt that they will stop altogether.”