Via Zero Hedge by Tyler Durden
Update (1455 ET): The Houthis have confirmed there will be a ceasefire in the Red Sea with the United States. The deal was mediated by Oman, and this looks like a ‘mission accomplished’ moment for Trump where he’s ready to grasp onto a way out of the quagmire the US found itself in. Wisely, he is getting the US out, and Israel appears to be stepping up in terms of its own defense.
Mideast war correspondent Elijah Magnier observes, “The US intelligently stopped the bombing on Yemen due to the lack of objectives, the empty outcome and the high cost versus no gain.” Others have noted this is essentially a declare ‘mission accomplish’ and cut and run moment, amid no better alternatives.
The full Yemeni statement…
Surreal, close-up images are emerging showing the sheer and utter destruction and size of the Israeli attack on Sanaa International Airport earlier in the day…
It appears Washington is now content to hand things over the Israel. The Pentagon might have better use for its two aircraft carriers off Yemen, which were essentially large sitting ducks.
* * *
Did the White House make some kind of diplomatic breakthrough with the Houthis of Yemen? There may be behind-the-scenes, unofficial and indirect diplomatic engagement going on, but in the Red Sea there’s a full-scale war scenario. But perhaps no longer.
This week Israel joined the US coalition’s bombardment of Yemen, following a ballistic missile launch on Ben Gurion International Airport, resulting in six injuries. President Trump on Tuesday has indicated the Houthis are ready to talk and no longer want to fight the US. The Houthis within an hour of the headlines denied this, calling the president’s words “inaccurate”. Fight still on?…
HOUTHI SPOKESMAN DENIES GROUP WILL STOP ATTACKING RED SEA SHIPS
He claimed Houthis have informed his administration that they no longer want to “fight” with the United States, and they are ready to halt attacks on Red Sea shipping lanes. He said this while hosting new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House.
Recent weeks have witnessed an uptick in Houthi drone attacks on US warships in regional waters, including against the USS Truman carrier, which reportedly resulted in a F-18 Hornet fighter jet going overboard.
“The Houthis have announced that they are not…that they don’t want to fight anymore,” Trump said in the fresh statement.
“They just don’t want to fight. And we will honor that, and we will, we will stop the bombings, and they have capitulated, but more importantly, they we will take their word they say they will not be blowing up ships anymore,” he added.
“We just found out about that. So I think that’s very, very positive… I will accept their word, and we are going to stop the bombing of the booties, effective immediately,” he said. He claimed the Iran-backed rebels have essentially admitted defeat:
“We will stop the bombings. They have capitulated… we will take their word that they will not be blowing up ships anymore, and that’s the purpose of what we were doing,” Trump said.
The fact that the US Commander-in-Chief just said US attacks will go into effect “immediately” is quite significant – as the fight has been on for over a year. The Houthis have long vowed to keep up the attacks on Red Sea shipping so long as Israel occupies Gaza, but have given China and Russia a pass.
However, Al Jazeera has written in an update that “The Houthis have not confirmed the pause. The US has been striking the Houthis on near daily basis.”
Tuesday saw huge Israeli airstrikes destroy Yemen’s main international airport in Sanaa. Fireballs and smoke plumes rose high over the entire capital city. The raids appear to have ceased for now.
The Israelis have had support from US military assets in the region, and the Houthis have condemned what a statement called the “US-Israeli aggression”. The Pentagon has said US forces “have hit over 1,000 targets” in Yemen since mid-March, “killing Houthi fighters and leaders, including senior Houthi missile and UAV officials, and degrading their capabilities”
Trump’s words from the Oval Office on Tuesday:
Meanwhile, Trump also said from the Oval that he has a “very, very big announcement” ahead of his upcoming trip to the Middle East. He’s set to depart Monday for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
“We’re going to have a very, very big announcement to make, like as big as it gets,” Trump said. “And I won’t tell you on what … and it’s very positive.”
“It is really, really positive. And that announcement will be made either Thursday or Friday or Monday before we leave,” Trump said. “But it’ll be one of the most important announcements that have been made in many years about a certain subject, very important subject. So you’ll all be here.”
Read in its entirety at zerohedge.com.
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