by Lloyd's List
6 May 2025 (Lloyd's List) - US president Donald Trump dropped a bombshell on Tuesday, announcing that the Houthis said they will stop attacking ships in the Red Sea in return for the US stopping its aerial bombardment campaign.
While sitting alongside vice president JD Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio and newly elected Canadian prime minister Mark Carney in the White House, Trump told reporters that the Houthis have “capitulated” and “will not be blowing up ships anymore”.
“The Houthis 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,” said Trump.
The Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which appears to have mediated the talks between the US and the Houthis, issued a statement shortly after Trump’s remarks confirming that the sides agreed to a ceasefire.
“Neither side will target the other, including American vessels, in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, ensuring freedom of navigation and the smooth flow of international commercial shipping,” foreign minister Badr Albusaidi said on social media platform X.
Rubio said, “This was always a freedom of navigation issue.
“This is a band of individuals with advanced weaponry that was threatening global shipping, and the job was to get that to stop — and, if it's going to stop, then we can stop,” said Rubio during the televised event.
The Houthis began their campaign against commercial shipping in late 2023 with attacks aimed at vessels they perceived as Israeli-linked. The Yemeni faction soon expanded its targets to include US- and UK-linked ships as the two nations began striking Houthi targets in Yemen.
The ceasefire announcement comes after over a month of the US intensely bombings Houthi targets, including the key fuel import hub of Ras Isa. Israel also launched airstrikes against Houthi targets on Monday and Tuesday after a Houthi missile bypassed Israeli air defence systems on Sunday and landed near the country’s international airport.
The Houthis attacked dozens of merchant ships between November 2023 and December 2024, but no new attacks have been reported since, as the militants turned their focus to launching missiles and drones at Israel.
It was not immediately clear which vessels still fall under the Houthis’ targeting criteria, but responses from Houthis officials unequivocally indicated that aggression against Israel will continue.
“Our military operations in support of Gaza will not cease until the aggression against Gaza stops and the blockade on its residents is lifted, allowing the entry of food, medicine and fuel,” Houthi official Mohammad Al Bahiti said on X.
“As for our attacks on the US, they fall within the context of the right to self-defence. If it halts its attacks on us, we will halt our attacks on it. This position also applies to Britain.”
He added, “If the US persists with its operations in support of the Zionist entity, even if they are immoral, the only way to stop the war and avoid escalation is for the US to pressure Netanyahu to respect the terms of the ceasefire agreement. At that point, we will halt all our military operations in the Red Sea and deep within the Zionist entity.”
The Houthis have been approached for comment.
