MEMRI reported that a series of Saudi analysts were highly critical of US President Donald Trump’s cease-fire with the Houthis.
By Rachel Avraham
According to a recent report in MEMRI, “On May 6, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump unexpectedly announced that the U.S. would stop targeting Houthi strongholds in Yemen after the latter had agreed to stop fighting. “They have capitulated, but more importantly, we will take their word. They say they will not be blowing up ships anymore,” he said. Several hours later, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi posted on X that the agreement between the U.S. and the Houthis had been brokered by Oman and that, “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.””
MEMRI added, “The Houthis, for their part, rejected the U.S. claim that they had “capitulated,” calling this a lie and underlining that the agreement had been made at the behest of the U.S. after its attacks on them had “completely failed.” Houthi officials called the agreement a “resounding victory” for their side, and stated that the success of the agreement depended on America’s commitment to it. They also stressed that their attacks on Israeli vessels in the Red Sea would continue unaffected.”
According to MEMRI, “The news about the U.S.-Houthi ceasefire sparked considerable criticism in Saudi Arabia. Articles in the Saudi government press condemned the agreement on the grounds that it preserves the Houthis’ military capabilities, thus endangering the region and leaving Yemen and its people to an uncertain future. One writer claimed that this “absurd” agreement reflects disregard for the lives of 30 million Yemenis, who have been abandoned to their fate, as well as the “disgraceful” indifference of the world, which values commercial interests over human life. Another Saudi commentator slammed the Houthis, stating that, like other members of the resistance axis, they chose to hold secret talks with the U.S. and to reconcile with it despite all their slogans about liberating Jerusalem and Palestine and supporting the oppressed.”
For example, in one of the articles cited by MEMRI, “Journalist Hamoud Taleb wrote in the Saudi daily ‘Okaz on May 8: “One of the most absurd things that happened recently is the agreement between the U.S. and the Houthis, according to which the latter will stop targeting ships and threatening the vital shipping lane if the Americans stop their massive airstrikes on the Houthi military facilities, weapons depots and military headquarters – attacks that have been going on for a while and which sowed massive destruction in various parts of Yemen.”
He continued: “The Houthis simply announced that they could no longer endure [the attacks], and the Americans, for their part, considered only the safety of their ships and of the [shipping] lanes. [They said] ‘to hell with the Yemenis and with the consequences of the Houthi rule and the Houthi actions,’ which have been the epitome of political, ideological and human backwardness for over a decade. “It’s a disgrace that the modern world, with its [ostensibly] humane organizations and laws, faces the complete tragedy of nearly 30 million souls, namely the Yemeni people, and does nothing but safeguard its economy and trade.””
Khaled bin Hamed Al-Malik, editor of the Saudi Al-Jazirah daily, wrote that the U.S. is playing a political game in the region while looking after its own interests, and that it has apparently agreed to let the Houthis retain their military strength even at the expense of the region’s security and the future of Yemen: “America’s policy in the region apparently accepts the Houthi presence as a military force as long as shipping in the Red Sea is not threatened – even if this undermines regional stability and leaves Yemen to an uncertain future. The U.S. has its own approaches to handling complicated issues in the region, and sometimes it prefers not to resolve them in a way that ends the tension.”
Photo from RuneAgerhus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houthis#/media/File:Slogan_of_the_Houthi_Movement.svg
