In a surprise move, President Trump announced the U.S. would cease its weeks-long bombing campaign against the Houthis in Yemen. However, experts caution that the Iran-backed group remains a significant threat. 

Trump stated on Tuesday that the Houthis “just don’t want to fight…and we will honor that. We will stop the bombings.”

The president declined to reveal his source for this information, only stating it was a “very good source” when asked about the confirmation from the terrorist network, which has been attacking U.S. and allied ships in the Red Sea for years.

Shortly after Trump’s announcement, Oman’s Foreign Minister, Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, stated that a ceasefire agreement had been reached between the U.S. and the Houthis following discussions facilitated by Oman.

He added that the agreement aims to secure international shipping in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, including American vessels, ensuring freedom of navigation and the smooth flow of international commercial shipping.

This suggests Oman, a past mediator in U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, played a crucial role in achieving the ceasefire.

However, a new report obtained by Digital prior to the president’s announcement, warns the Trump administration to remain vigilant against the threats posed by the Houthis and their international backers.

The report, “The Houthi Challenge: Forging a Strategy to Defeat the Iran-Backed Terror Group in Yemen” by Ari Heistein of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, points out that Iran isn’t the only facilitator of Houthi operations.

While Iran has supported the Houthis since at least 2014, potentially as early as 2009, with training and advanced weaponry, Oman has allegedly allowed the group to operate from its territory and has served as a smuggling route for Iranian arms.

Jonathan Schanzer, executive director of the FDD and former terrorism finance analyst at the Treasury, described Oman’s role in negotiations between Washington and its adversaries as “outrageous.”

He told Digital, “To hold them up as responsible intermediaries when they are in fact hosting the very group that we’re trying to dismantle, there’s very little logic [in] this position.”

The report indicates that Iranian weapons are smuggled into Yemen through the port of Hodeidah, targeted this week in a on infrastructure in and around the Houthi-controlled capital of Sana’a, as well as through smaller ports or overland via Oman.

Omani private banking institutions and businesses are also allegedly “servicing the Houthi economy and even supplying the group with arms.” 

Heistein found that “More must be done to prevent bulk cash smuggling across the border between Oman and Yemen,” adding “Muscat must begin to feel pressure from the international community to address a threat finance challenge that has gone unchecked for too long.”

The report outlines the necessary steps to counter the Houthis, noting that previous military strikes by and recently by the U.S. and Israel, have not significantly weakened the group.

These steps include continued military action, similar to Israel’s recent strikes on Yemen’s Hodeidah port and Sana’a International Airport, but also economic, diplomatic, and soft power strategies to weaken the group, according to the report.

The report also emphasized that the Houthis have used past pauses in fighting with nations like Saudi Arabia, the U.S., and Israel to regroup and rebuild.

Heistein told Digital that “Compelling the Houthis to halt attacks on shipping is a meaningful achievement only if it is part of a broader, long-term strategy,” adding “However, if a Red Sea ceasefire becomes the centerpiece and endpoint of U.S. policy toward the Houthis, it risks empowering an increasingly dangerous regime to escalate and de-escalate at will.”

 Heinstein warned that “Without a comprehensive approach to addressing the Houthi threat, the U.S. and its allies could soon be confronting a more dangerous, better-armed terrorist group.”