U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday the Houthis have committed to halting attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and emphasized that Washington intends to honor that commitment.
In his first public comments on the cease-fire with the Yemen-based terror group, Trump said, “We had a very good outcome with the Houthis. We honor their word. They made a commitment, and we dealt with other countries that are close to them and their surrogates—we honor all of their words.”
U.S President Donald Trump
Trump described the Houthis as having shown “a great capacity to withstand punishment,” adding: “They took tremendous punishment. You could say there’s a lot of bravery there—it was amazing what they took. But we honor their commitment. They gave us their word that they wouldn't be shooting ships anymore, and we honor that. Hopefully, that’s over with. Just leave those ships alone.”
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The cease-fire has raised questions in the region, particularly in Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded with a statement asserting that Israel would continue to act independently to counter threats.
In a video released Monday night, styled as a mock interview with his advisers, Netanyahu said Israel is fully capable of defending itself without assistance if necessary. “We are acting in Yemen and in other distant places,” he said, adding that Israel “has a long arm, and we will use it. If others join us—our American friends, for example—that’s good. But if not, we will defend ourselves on our own.”
Meanwhile, U.S. officials signaled cautious optimism regarding parallel diplomatic talks with Iran. According to senior sources, discussions with Tehran are progressing constructively, though Washington is not rushing to judge the outcome of the negotiations. Officials stressed that while Iran may pursue civilian nuclear energy, it cannot be allowed to maintain a program that could lead to nuclear weapons capability. They warned that if Iran were to acquire such weapons, it could trigger a wider nuclear arms race in the Middle East.