U.S. and Houthis reach truce—How it came together

The Trump administration and the ruling government in Yemen, known as Ansar Allah or the Houthis, reached a ceasefire agreement today. The deal matches the outline of an offer put forward by senior Houthi official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti in an interview he did in Yemen with Drop Site News in April. Much remains to be seen, but it’s worth taking a moment to applaud our colleague Shuaib Almowsawa for conducting the interview that we’re told played a part in pulling this deal together.

We have been criticized for our willingness to interview those in conflict with the United States or its allies, such as the Houthis or Hamas—Jeremy sat down recently with senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan—but we stand by the principle that it is a dereliction of journalistic duty not to do so. And dialogue can lead, as it did today, to some unexpected places.

Reporting like this isn’t easy and relies on a committed base of supporters. If you haven’t upgraded to a paid subscription, please do so. If you already subscribe and want to dig a little deeper, you can make a one-time or recurring tax-deductible contribution here.

Jeremy joined me and Emily Jashinsky on Breaking Points this morning to share more from his interview.

Also from Drop Site today: A new report from Jason Paladino reveals the Israeli messaging app TeleMessage—the one used by Mike Waltz and likely other national security officials—was misconfigured allowing anyone to see usernames, emails, and passwords of some of its users long before a recent hack.

Meanwhile, India has launched its attack on Pakistan, retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack, which it blames on Pakistan. Follow our Twitter account for updates as the story develops.

U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on May 6, 2025. Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images.

In talks brokered by Oman, the Trump administration and Houthi leadership in Yemen announced the terms of a truce that will see an immediate pause to the American bombing campaign, met with a reciprocal agreement from the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, not to attack American ships.

“I will accept their word, and we are going to stop the bombing of the Houthis, effective immediately,” Trump said in the Oval Office. He said the Houthis “will not be blowing up ships.”

In an interview published in April with Drop Site News, senior Ansar Allah official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti first sketched out the outlines of the deal that was sealed today. “If the U.S. stops targeting Yemen, we will cease our military operations against it. We do not consider ourselves at war with the American people,” he said.

That offer mirrored language previously used by Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The Drop Site article was noted at high levels within the Trump administration, a source with knowledge said, and played a role in the resulting agreement.

After the announcement, Israeli officials said they were blindsided by it, a slight that is being received in Israel as a major blow to the reputation of Ron Dermer, a top lieutenant to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and tasked with coordinating with his American counterparts. Dermer recently did battle against Trump envoy Adam Boehler, successfully pressuring the U.S. to demote him after he met directly with Hamas officials and said on television that the United States is “not an agent of Israel.” Dermer also worked directly with former National Security Advisor Michael Waltz on plans for a U.S.-led bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities, plotting that angered Trump and led to Waltz’s departure, the Washington Post reported. That Dermer—and by extension Israel—was left out of the Houthi talks suggests a widening trust gap. Dermer will be in Washington to meet with envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday.

Trump was asked by reporters what he would do if Yemen struck Israel. "I will discuss that, if something happens with Israel and the Houthis,” he said.

In the Oval Office, Trump also teased a “very big,” “positive” announcement in the coming days. It’s not exactly a secret that Trump’s team is trying to make some quick deals ahead of his trip to the region in a week where he will visit the rulers of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Israel has publicly said its threats to seize Gaza and force much of the population into the south are aimed at pressuring Hamas into capitulating to Israeli terms for a temporary truce—and the U.S. is Israel’s premiere backer and defender in the region. Trump wants major business and arms deals to emerge from his trip, while also promoting normalization with Israel. The Saudis have said they won’t normalize unless a clear path to Palestinian statehood is forged and Trump said recently he is confident the Saudis will join the Abraham Accords.

The Yemen announcement is a fragile concept: Ansar Allah has vowed to continue its operations against Israeli-linked vessels. Houthi officials were quick to note that the deal does not include Israel, and that as long as Israel carries out attacks on Gaza and continues to restrict aid, Yemen will continue to attack Israel. The Houthi leadership has been silent on whether the deal applies to Israeli shipping. A statement from Oman suggests that it does. “In the future, neither side will target the other, including American vessels, in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, ensuring freedom of navigation and the free flow of international commercial shipping,” it says. The reference to the flow in international shipping could be meant to include Israeli ships without requiring the Houthis to formally acknowledge such a concession. Whether an Israeli ship will test the waters given the uncertainty remains to be seen. Ansar Allah leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi is likely to speak publicly by tomorrow to address the agreement.

In his interview with Drop Site, al-Bukhaiti said that the group’s offer was not being extended to Israel. “When the Zionist entity stops its genocidal crimes in Gaza and allows food, medicine, and fuel to enter, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement, we will cease all military operations against it,” he said. “All nations should act to support the oppressed and the weak, as emphasized by international conventions and international human rights law.”

That Trump is soon personally visiting the region, in range of Houthi missiles, likely played a part in hastening the agreement. Israel has encouraged him to add a stop there during his visit to the region, but Trump said Tuesday he won’t do so, an additional snub.

Israel’s attacks on Yemen have continued, meanwhile, with a devastating strike on the airport in Sana’a. The attack followed a Houthi strike on Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv. Combined with the recent Israeli attack on the port of Hodeidah and the American attack on the Ras Isa fuel port, the nation’s civilian infrastructure has been left in ruins.