Trump kneels before the “power of Ansar Allah”
After months of heavy and costly airstrikes, US President Donald Trump has finally announced that the US military operation in Yemen has stopped. Trump claimed on Tuesday night that Ansar Allah had announced that they would no longer fight the US. “We respect the Houthis’ words. They said they would no longer blow up ships. From this moment on, the US attacks on Yemen will stop,” Trump said.
At the same time, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also stated: “The purpose of our attacks on Yemen was to free up shipping lanes. Given the statements made by the Houthis, we no longer need to continue our operations against them.”
In this regard, the Omani Foreign Ministry, which has been acting as a mediator between Washington and Sanaa, announced that Muscat’s ongoing consultations with the two warring parties had led to an understanding according to which each side would refrain from targeting the other, including American ships and vessels.
Sanaa’s Different Narrative
Although Trump claimed that the ceasefire was initially proposed by Ansarullah to show Washington as still strong and victorious, the narrative that Sanaa officials have given about this does not match Trump’s claim.
Ansarullah spokesman Mohammed Al-Bakhiti denied the cessation of attacks on Red Sea ships and announced that Trump’s statements were not accurate.
Sanaa’s leaders seem to be skeptical of Trump’s good intentions in stopping attacks on Yemen. Mohammed Taher Anam, an advisor to the Supreme Political Council of Yemen, said in this regard: “The main motivation for the US to announce the ceasefire is the fear that exists in Trump’s mind regarding his upcoming trip, and this is what led the Americans to recently contact the Omanis and ask them to talk to the Yemeni delegation about stopping the war and a ceasefire. However, the Yemenis will not hesitate to target him and his plane if they get close to the path of Yemeni missiles and drones in the region.
Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council, also called Trump’s statement on the cessation of attacks on the country a victory that will lead to the cessation of Washington’s support for Israel. Al-Houthi emphasized that Trump’s announcement of the cessation of US attacks on Yemen will first be evaluated on the ground.
According to the statements of Sanaa officials, it seems that the cessation of operations was unilaterally carried out by Trump and that the Yemenis have deferred any decision on this matter to Trump’s goodwill in the coming days.