President Trump on Saturday claimed that Yemen’s Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, had “called” the US and said it wasn’t seeking conflict, suggesting that the ceasefire reached between the two sides in May 2025 was still in effect despite the escalating war in Yemen.
“The Houthis called us, and they don’t want to fight with us,” President Trump told reporters during a visit to Dublin, Ireland. “They don’t want us to go after them … they would much prefer not having us involved, and they’re letting most ships go through.”
The US and Ansar Allah reached a ceasefire after Trump conducted a heavy bombing campaign in Yemen from March 15 to May 6, 2025, which killed more than 200 civilians.
The real goal of the US airstrikes was to force Ansar Allah to end its blockade of Israeli shipping and attacks on Israel, which were being done in response to Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, but the US failed and ended the bombing campaign with an agreement that it would stop bombing Yemen if Ansar Allah stopped targeting US warships and wouldn’t target US commercial shipping.
Axios reported on Friday that as Ansar Allah was making rapid gains on the ground over the past week, Saudi Crown Prince Mohhamed bin Salman urged President Trump to order airstrikes, but he declined. While the US is not currently directly bombing Yemen, it is deeply involved in the war, as Saudi Arabia relies on US intelligence, US-made aircraft, and US-made bombs to conduct airstrikes in the country.
CNN has reported that the intelligence support has ramped up recently, and the Axios report said 200 US troops are providing “non-kinetic” assistance in Saudi Arabia. Trump also reportedly gave Saudi Crown Prince Mohhamed bin Salman the green light to launch the July 13 strikes on the Sanaa International Airport that reignited the war.
In his comments on Saturday, Trump added that there’s just “one country they’re not too happy with,” referring to Ansar Allah’s blockade on Saudi shipping, which began after the Sanaa airport strikes. After Ansar Allah took control of the Red Sea port city of Mocha, senior officials said it wouldn’t affect “navigation” in the area.
“We reassure you that our Armed Forces are disciplined and there is no source of danger to the security of navigation except from the reckless behavior of the Saudi enemy,” said Mahdi al-Mashat, who serves as the president of Ansar Allah-controlled Yemen, which includes the capital Sanaa and territory where most Yemenis live.
