US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the US would stop bombing Yemen’s Houthis after the Iran-backed group had agreed to stop interrupting important shipping lanes in the Middle East.

The announcement did not mention the ongoing Houthi attacks on Israel, and a spokesman for the Yemeni rebel group pledged that such strikes would continue. Israeli officials told Hebrew media outlets that Washington did not give Jerusalem advance notice of the announcement, and that Israel was surprised by it.

After Trump made the announcement, Oman revealed that it had mediated the ceasefire deal under which neither side will target the other, including US vessels in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait.

CNN cited people familiar with the matter as saying Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff had worked with the Omanis over the past week to broker the US-Houthi ceasefire. The sources said the ceasefire was also meant to help build momentum in the Omani-mediated Iran nuclear talks, which Witkoff has also been leading on behalf of the Trump administration.

During a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump said the Houthis had informed the White House that “they don’t want to fight anymore.”

“They said, Please don’t bomb us anymore and we’re not going to attack your ships,” said Trump. “And I will accept their word, and we are going to stop the bombing of the Houthis effective immediately.”

“They say they will not be blowing up ships anymore, and that was the purpose of what we’ve been doing,” Trump said. “I think that’s very positive. They were knocking out a lot of ships sailing beautifully down the various seas.”

Trump, who is set to visit the Middle East next week, also said he had a “very, very, very big announcement to make… like as big as it gets… and it’s really positive.”

The president........

© The Times of Israel