Trump halts military strikes on Houthis but expert warns Iran-backed terrorist group remains major threat

President Donald Trump made the astonishment announcement this week that the U.S., aft weeks of aggravated strikes, volition halt each bombing campaigns connected the Houthis successful Yemen – but experts person warned the Iran-backed radical volition not beryllium idle. 

In Trump’s Tuesday announcement from the Oval Office, helium claimed the Houthis "just don't privation to fight…and we volition grant that. We volition halt the bombings."

The president would not accidental who provided him with this confirmation by the violent network, which for years has attacked U.S. and allied ships successful the Red Sea successful a major menace to state of navigation, but successful a laughter pursuing the question, helium replied that it came from a "very bully source."

Less than 2 hours later, Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, the overseas curate of Oman, took to X to say, "Following caller discussions and contacts conducted by the Sultanate of Oman with the United States and the applicable authorities successful Sana'a, successful the Republic of Yemen, with the purpose of de-escalation, efforts person resulted successful a ceasefire statement betwixt the 2 sides."

TRUMP CLAIMS HOUTHIS 'DON'T WANT TO FIGHT' AND SAYS US WILL STOP BOMBING CAMPAIGN

President Donald Trump, right, announced the U.S. would extremity its bombing run against the Houthis successful Yemen portion sitting adjacent to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney successful the Oval Office of the White House connected Tuesday, May 6, 2025 successful Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

"In the future, neither broadside volition people the other, including American vessels, successful the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, ensuring state of navigation and the creaseless travel of planetary commercialized shipping," helium added. 

The station suggests that Oman, which has besides played an intermediary successful the U.S.-Iran atomic talks, was heavy progressive successful securing the ceasefire.

However, a caller study obtained by Fox News Digital up of the president’s astonishment announcement warns that the Trump medication indispensable stay vigilant against large information threats posed by the Houthis and the planetary actors supporting the terrorist network.

The report, dubbed "The Houthi Challenge: Forging a Strategy to Defeat the Iran-Backed Terror Group successful Yemen" by Ari Heistein for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and probe chap astatine the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, highlighted that it is not lone Iran that person helped facilitate the Houthi operational capabilities. 

While Tehran has backed the Houthis since astatine slightest 2014 – and perchance arsenic aboriginal arsenic 2009 during the war successful Yemen – done grooming and precocious weapons similar ballistic missiles, Oman has besides played a relation by allowing the radical to run from its territory and serving arsenic a cardinal smuggling way for Iranian arms.

ISRAEL CALLS TO EVACUATE YEMEN AIRPORT AMID FIGHT WITH HOUTHIS

Houthi supporters stitchery to be a rally successful protestation of the United States' airstrikes connected Yemen and Israel's ongoing strikes successful the Gaza Strip successful Sanaa, Yemen, connected Friday, March 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

Jonathan Schanzer, a erstwhile coercion concern expert astatine the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the existent enforcement manager of the FDD, called Oman's relation successful negotiations betwixt Washington and Middle East adversaries "outrageous." 

"To clasp them up arsenic liable intermediaries erstwhile they are successful information hosting the precise radical that we're trying to dismantle, there's precise small logic [in] this position," helium told Fox News Digital.

The study recovered that Iranian arms are smuggled into Yemen done the larboard of Hodeidah – which was targeted successful a series of Israeli strikes connected large infrastructure successful and astir the Houthi-controlled superior of Sana’a this week – but besides done smaller ports oregon overland done Oman.

Omani backstage banking institutions and businesses are besides reportedly known to beryllium "servicing the Houthi system and adjacent supplying the radical with arms." 

"More indispensable beryllium done to forestall bulk currency smuggling crossed the borderline betwixt Oman and Yemen," Heistein found. "Muscat indispensable statesman to consciousness unit from the planetary assemblage to code a menace concern situation that has gone unchecked for excessively long."

The study breaks down the varied steps that request to beryllium taken to efficaciously undermine and antagonistic the Houthis arsenic repeated subject strikes by first, Saudi Arabia starting successful 2015, past precocious by the U.S. and Israel, person not importantly degraded the violent group.

Houthi fighters locomotion implicit British and U.S flags astatine a rally successful enactment of Palestinians successful the Gaza Strip, and the caller Houthi strikes connected shipping successful the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden connected Feb. 4, 2024, connected the outskirts of Sana'a, Yemen. (Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)

Those steps see continued subject enactment – akin to Israel’s caller strikes connected Yemen’s Hodeidah larboard and Sana’a International Airport, which are expected to person far-reaching economical impacts and summation interior unit connected the Houthis. But subject enactment unsocial isn’t enough; economic, diplomatic, and different brushed powerfulness strategies are besides needed to weaken the group, according to the report. 

The study besides highlighted that the Houthis person utilized erstwhile lulls successful warring with nations similar Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and Israel to regroup and rebuild. 

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"Compelling the Houthis to halt attacks connected shipping is simply a meaningful accomplishment lone if it is portion of a broader, semipermanent strategy," Heistein told Fox News Digital. "However, if a Red Sea ceasefire becomes the centerpiece and endpoint of U.S. argumentation toward the Houthis, it risks empowering an progressively unsafe authorities to escalate and de-escalate astatine will.

 "Without a broad attack to addressing the Houthi threat, the U.S. and its allies could soon beryllium confronting a much dangerous, better-armed violent group," Heinstein warned.