Trump Administration Announces Deal to Stop U.S. Bombing of the Houthi

What Happened?

The Trump Administration has announced a deal with the Houthi in Yemen this week. Under the terms of the agreement, the U.S. will stop bombing and attacking Houthi targets in Yemen and in exchange the Houthi will refrain from attacking U.S. ships in the Red Sea. 

Notably the deal did not include any provisions to stop the Houthi from attacking Israel, or the commercial ships of other nations off the coast of Yemen. According to a spokesman from the Trump Administration, ‘As long as they announced the cessation (of U.S. strikes) and they are actually committed to that, our position was self-defense so we will stop.’

Why it Matters

During the last year of the Biden Administration and for the first several months of the second Trump Administration, the United States engaged in extensive combat operations against the Houthi in Yemen. Using drones, cruise missiles, and conventional warplanes, U.S. forces have struck hundreds of targets in Yemen.

There were two reasons for the U.S. attacks on the Houthi in Yemen, the first being the Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and the second, Houthi attacks against Israel. The new deal between the Trump Administration and the Houthi does not appear to include any provisions about the Houthi stopping their attacks on Israel. ‘The agreement does not include Israel in any way, shape or form,’ Mohammed Abdulsalam, the chief Houthi negotiator, told Reuters.

While U.S. forces have paused their attacks on Yemen, the Israeli Air Force has continued theirs. Just yesterday Israel attacked the Yemeni city of San’aa, though the exact extent of the damage is unknown. Whether the Houthi will keep their word remains to be seen, but their willingness to negotiate a cease-fire with the United States likely has one of two possible reasons.

The first is the Houthi have suffered significant damage from the U.S. bombing campaign and were forced to come to the negotiating table. The other possibility is the deal is a ruse agreed to in bad faith by the Houthi to give them time to replenish their losses and plan future attacks. Only time will tell which of those two will be proven accurate.

The lack of agreement by the Houthi to stop attacking what they deem to be ships bound for Israel, or Israeli ships, could soon put U.S. forces and the Houthi back into conflict. 

How it Affects You

If the Houthi do cease their attacks on commercial shipping it would benefit the global economy, as some 15% of all global shipping passes by the coast of Yemen. Since January the Houthi have not been attacking commercial ships, though it is unclear if that represents a permanent change or just a temporary pause in their operations.