The Yemeni Houthi fighters have warned Arab states to be wary of any agreements with U.S. President Donald Trump as he visits the Middle East—Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar—saying the United States has a consistent pattern of discarding its allies when circumstances change.
Newsweek has contacted the White House and the Saudi and Emirati foreign ministries by email and the government of Qatar through its website contact form.
Why It Matters
The comments come days after an announcement halting the U.S. military campaign in Yemen and suspending Houthi attacks on American vessels. The Iran-backed Houthis have shown growing defiance despite more than nine weeks of airstrikes aimed at deterring attacks in the Red Sea and on Israel.
What To Know
The Houthis urged the rulers of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar to stand by the Palestinian cause and Arab people. “Abandon the wars against your own kin,” Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, a member of the Houthi-aligned Supreme Political Council wrote on X, formerly Twitter, ahead of Trump’s visit.
“As the martyred leader once foresaw and said: ‘America, which abandoned the Shah, will abandon Israel, its clients, and its allies,’” he added, referring to the founder of the Houthi movement.
The group, which has survived years of sustained bombardment by both Saudi and Emirati forces, previously warned Gulf countries of engaging in military campaigns alongside the U.S. or in defense of Israel.
The U.S. military—having begun strikes on Houthi strongholds in Yemen in mid-March—planned to escalate its campaign with a series of targeted assassinations. The campaign, modeled on a recent Israeli operation against Hezbollah and with alleged backing from Saudi Arabia, was met with resistance from the UAE, according to The New York Times.
The group declared that the truce agreement reached with Trump—mediated by Oman—excluded attacks on Israel, vowing escalation in retaliation for the war in Gaza. Israel has launched several airstrikes on Yemen, including Sana’a International Airport, in response to a Houthi missile attack on the Ben Gurion Airport.
What People Are Saying
Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, a member of the Houthi-aligned Supreme Political Council wrote on X, translated from Arabic: “Just before #Trump heads to #SaudiArabia, #Qatar, and the #UAE, we say to the rulers: Put your trust in God, stand by your central cause—Palestine—and by the Arab peoples. Abandon the wars against your own kin. As the martyred leader once foresaw and said: ‘America, which abandoned the Shah, will abandon #Israel, its clients, and its allies.’ We have seen the truth of his words with our own eyes.”
U.S. President Donald Trump said in the Oval Office last week, as quoted by the Associated Press: “They just don’t want to fight. And we will honor that, and we will stop the bombings.”
The Emirati Foreign Ministry said on May 8: “The United Arab Emirates has welcomed the announcement by the Sultanate of Oman regarding an agreement to reach a ceasefire, which will enhance the protection of freedom of navigation and international trade in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and promote opportunities for peaceful dialogue in Yemen to resolve regional conflicts.”
What Happens Next
Trump, who landed in Saudi Arabia on Monday, is expected to hold high-level meetings there, in the UAE and in Qatar between Monday and Friday.
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