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How Donald Trump was forced to call truce with Houthis after losing US jets, drones
US President Donald Trump surprised many when he announced a ceasefire between the US and Houthis last week. While Trump claimed the Houthis 'didn't want to fight anymore' the truth is that his hand was forced after a costly and ineffective campaign against the Iran-backed group. Let's take a closer look read more
Donald Trump had vowed to use 'overwhelming lethal force' against the Houthis. AP
US President Donald Trump surprised many when he announced a ceasefire between the US and Houthis last week.
'We're going to stop the bombing of the Houthis, effective immediately,' Trump said at the Oval Office.
Trump claimed the Houthis said 'they don't want to fight anymore. They just don't want to fight. And we will honour that, and we will stop the bombings.'
Trump's announcement came on the very day that Israel carried out airstrikes on the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.
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This came after a Houthi missile hit Israel's international airport on Sunday.
But it isn't so simple.
The truth is that Trump's hand was forced after the US led a costly campaign against the Iran-backed militia group.
Let's take a closer look:
What happened?
The US began its airstrikes against the terror group in March in 'Operation Rough Rider'.
This came after the Houthis in November 2023 vowed to attack Israeli ships in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Arabian Sea over its actions in Gaza.
The Houthis had disrupted commerce by launching hundreds of drone and missile attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.
Trump had vowed to use 'overwhelming lethal force' against the group.
Operation Rough Rider attacks 'have destroyed multiple command-and-control facilities, air defence systems, advanced weapons manufacturing facilities, and advanced weapons storage locations,' CENTCOM said in an April 27 post on X.
'These storage facilities housed advanced conventional weapons, including anti-ship ballistic and cruise missiles, unmanned aerial systems, and uncrewed surface vessels, which were employed in Houthi terrorist attacks on international shipping lanes.'
The New York Times reported that Trump made the decision to pull the plug after months the US had little to show for months of the bombing campaign.
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The report said that though the US did some damage with their airstrikes, the Houthis moved their assets to underground bunkers.
It quoted officials in the know as saying that Central Command chief General Michael E Kurilla had laid out an eight to ten month campaign for the US.
This grab from footage shared by the US Central Command (CENTCOM) on March 15, 2025 shows a cruise missile being fired from the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64) at sea during operations against Yemen's Houthis. AFP
Kurilla proposed dismantling Houthi air defence systems first before going for targeted assassinations of leadership – essentially adopting the Israeli playbook against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Though Trump approved the airstrikes, he gave the military just a month to produce results.
The report said Trump then asked for an update – and was told that the US had was likely headed into an 'expensive, indefinite' conflict.
By then, the Houthis had taken out seven American MQ-9 drones, which cost around $30 million each.
The group also cost the US at least two fighter jets – which fell off aircraft carriers trying to dodge Houthi fire.
US officials said some F-16 jets and an F-35 stealth fighter were nearly downed, as per the report.
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The War Zone quoted a US official saying that the F-35 had to evasive maneuvers to avoid being hit by Houthi surface-to-air (SAM) missiles.
'They got close enough that the [F-35] had to maneuver,' the official said.
Trump by May 5 was ready to end the campaign.
He pulled the plug on it a day later.
Trump said the Houthis had 'capitulated but, more importantly, we will take their word that they say they will not be blowing up ships anymore. And that's what the purpose of what we were doing.'
'I think that's very positive,' Trump added. 'They were knocking out a lot of ships.'
NBC News at the time reported that the operation 'cost America more than $1 billion since March, including the thousands of bombs and missiles used in strikes.'
The costs of the US munitions used against Houthi rebel targets in Yemen in daily attacks since March 15 have totalled more than $750 million, another U.S. official said.
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The Trump administration has dropped more than 2,000 munitions on more than 1,000 targets, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide additional details on the strikes.
The total is only a fraction of the total costs of the operation. It doesn't account for the costs of operating two aircraft carriers, their accompanying warships or the flight hours of the aircraft.
In a statement, the Houthis said that its position toward Gaza hadn't changed and its 'initial understanding' with the US would not impact its support for the Palestinians.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said Trump's ceasefire was 'another good deal for America and our security.'
'The objective at the outset was securing the freedom of navigation, and that was achieved through the restoration of American deterrence.'
What do experts say?
This pact is 'definitely a good thing,' Dr Nabeel Khoury, the former deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Yemen, told The New Arab.
He said the deal halts 'what was a vicious bombing campaign that was harming Yemeni civilians, depleting US stockpiles of sensitive weapons while achieving nothing of lasting value'.
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Each side saw some benefit to striking a deal. For the Houthis, it offered an off-ramp that could allow them to rebuild and relieve pressure that, over months or years, could have strategically put them at risk, US officials and experts say.
Washington's allies in the region also wanted out, one source said.
'Because if the Houthis were under more pressure, their response was going to be to fire on the Saudis or the Emiratis,' one person familiar with the matter said.
A fighter plane takes off, said to be, for an operation against the Yemen's Houthis at an unidentified location in this screengrab taken from a handout video released on March 18, 2025. US CENTCOM via X/Handout via REUTERS
Despite Trump's framing of the deal as a way to reopen the Red Sea to commercial shipping without fear of Houthi attack, 'the Houthis have not fired on a commercial ship since December,' Gregory Brew, a senior analyst with the Eurasia Group risk-analysis firm, wrote on X.
'They are likely, however, to continue shooting at Israel,' Brew noted.
'The culmination of the ceasefire accord underscored how quickly the Trump administration moved on initial intelligence to secure what in March seemed unthinkable to many experts in the short term: a Houthi declaration it would stop striking US ships,' Reuters reported Tuesday.
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'Trump's unconventional approach included bypassing close US ally Israel, which is not covered by the agreement, and which was not told ahead of time, an Israeli official and a person familiar with the matter said.'
A US official said the administration had not notified Israel of the agreement with the Houthis before Trump talked about it publicly.
Israel, according to this official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic talks, was irked by the unexpected news — particularly because the Houthis have continued to launch attacks on Israel proper and other Israeli targets.
Israel does not appear to be covered by the US-Houthi agreement
'The agreement did not include limitations on Houthi attacks on Israel and shocked the Israelis since Trump had not bothered to consult or even inform the Israelis. For the Houthis to cease those attacks, it likely requires an end to Israel's slaughter and ethnic cleansing in Gaza. This suggests that Trump's commitment to Israel on matters that negatively affect US security is very fragile,' explained Dr Trita Parsi, the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, told The New Arab.
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'The Israelis are understandably shocked, particularly since this [pact] came after the Houthis successfully struck Ben Gurion Airport and demonstrated the inefficiency of Israel's updated anti-aircraft systems,' Parsi added.
The deal was not a 'genuine ceasefire' but rather 'tactical arrangement,' added Veena Ali-Khan, a fellow at the Century Foundation.
'If anything, it has intensified hostilities between Israel and the Houthis. The Houthis have been explicit in reserving the right to resume attacks at will, stressing that their agreement with the US has no bearing on their military campaign against Israel. They underscored this by escalating strikes in the days that followed, with Israel intercepting Houthi missiles en route to its territory,' she said.
Two sources said Iran played an important role in encouraging the Iran-aligned Houthis to negotiate, as Tehran pursues its own talks with the United States over its nuclear program aimed at ending crippling US sanctions and preventing a military strike by the US or Israel.
With inputs from agencies
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