WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he would stop the U.S. bombing campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen effective immediately because they had “capitulated” — a claim the group denied.

“They just don’t want to fight,” Trump said in an Oval Office meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. “And we will honor that, and we will stop the bombings, and they have capitulated. But more importantly, we will take their word.”

The White House later in the afternoon reposted a statement on X by the Omani foreign minister that said it had facilitated a ceasefire between the U.S. and Houthis.

“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 smooth flow of international commercial shipping,” the minister, Badr Albusaidi, said in the post.

A representative of the Houthis, who control much of Yemen including its capital, Sanaa, declined to confirm a deal was done. Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi Political Council, suggested in an interview that the group is ready to stop attacking U.S. military ships if the Trump administration halts its strikes, “but we will definitely continue our operations in support to Gaza.”

Houthi operations in the Red Sea and Israel “will not stop regardless of the consequences until the end of the aggression on Gaza and blockade on its people,” al-Bukhaiti said.

A Houthi attack on Israel’s main airport Sunday triggered a suspension of flights and prompted Israel to strike the airport in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital. Al-Bukhaiti vowed a retaliatory strike against Israel later Tuesday.

The Houthis began attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea after Israel launched a campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, paralyzing a vital waterway. Those attacks have largely dried up since late 2024 as shippers routed vessels in other directions, though the group has continued to target U.S. warships.

In March, the Houthis said they would resume attacks on Israeli ships, which they had halted for the duration of a ceasefire in Gaza. Days later, Trump began a military campaign against the rebel group. Last week, the Pentagon said U.S. forces had struck more than 1,000 targets on that campaign, dubbed Operation Rough Rider.

The aggressive U.S. attacks have stirred accusations that the U.S. isn’t doing enough to avoid civilian casualties, and the Yemen Data Project, a nonprofit group that tracks the campaign, said earlier that the strikes had killed 500 civilians so far.

“It seems optimistic to me to start putting up a ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner,” said Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “I think you have to look with caution and skepticism to see how their behavior changes.”

A National Security Council spokesperson declined to comment further following Trump’s remarks and the Pentagon declined immediate comment.

-----------

—With assistance from Courtney McBride and Jordan Fabian.

©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.