May 7th, 2025: Red Sea Deal Announced After Houthis ‘Capitulate’ & Hegseth’s Surprise Order
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What announcement did President Trump make about the Houthis?
It's Wednesday, the 7th of May. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. We'll start things off today with a big development in the Middle East. President Trump says that the Houthis have capitulated, agreeing to stop attacks on ships in the Red Sea. But, you may ask, is the threat really over? Well, I'm glad you asked. We'll have those details. Later in the show, India launches airstrikes against Pakistan. Keep an eye out on this developing situation, by the way. Attacking nine sites in response to the terrorist attack in Kashmir. Because, of course, what the world needed was more tension and conflict. Plus, just days into President Trump's second term, reportedly, a surprise order from his new defense secretary, Pete Hegseth... halted multiple U.S.
weapons shipments to Ukraine, catching the White House, reportedly, completely off guard And in today's back of the brief, a close call over Damascus Israeli and Turkish fighter jets narrowly avoided a confrontation during overlapping operations in Syrian airspace But first, today's PDB Spotlight. We'll begin with a major development out in the Middle East, where the U.S. and Yemen's Houthi militants have reportedly reached a breakthrough ceasefire agreement. Now, in a surprise announcement, President Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. will stop bombing the Houthis in Yemen effective immediately after the Iranian-backed group allegedly consented to stop attacks on U.S. vessels in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
and end their disruption of one of the world's most vital shipping lanes. That's according to a report from Reuters. Trump said the Houthis capitulated due to America's intense bombing campaign against the terror group, which has struck over 1,000 Houthi targets since it began back on March 15th. The president told reporters in the Oval Office that the military campaign left the group reeling and that they told the U.S., quote, they don't want to fight anymore. Trump said, quote, they said, please don't bomb us anymore and we're not going to attack your ships. And I will accept their word, he said, and we are going to stop the bombing of the Houthis effective immediately. They say they will not be blowing up ships anymore, end quote. Hmm. Following Trump's remarks, officials in Oman confirmed the breakthrough, saying they had mediated the ceasefire in recent days. People familiar with the matter told CNN that the U.S.
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who's been leading nuclear negotiations with Iran, worked to broker the agreement with the Houthis through Oman over the past week in the hopes of building momentum for a new nuclear deal with the Iranian regime. According to the Omani foreign minister, the understanding between the U.S. and the Houthis not to attack each other will ensure, quote, freedom of navigation and the smooth flow of international commercial shipping Secretary of State Marco Rubio subsequently described it as an important development, saying the goal of the U.S. bombing campaign was always to stop attacks on global shipping and restore freedom of navigation in the region
What are the implications of the ceasefire in the Red Sea?
As we've extensively covered here on the PDB, since Hamas launched its terror attacks on Israel back on the 7th of October in 2023, the Houthis have carried out at least 145 attacks on commercial vessels and 174 attacks on US military ships in the Red Sea and Suez Canal. Their attacks have rattled global trade, driving up shipping costs and disrupting critical supply chains across the world Some 70% of global trade traffic is now diverting around South Africa to avoid Houthi attacks near the Suez Canal So a halt to hostilities by the Houthis would bring welcome relief to global trade. But is the danger really gone? It's worth noting that the response from the Houthis to Trump's announcement was, well, somewhat contradictory. A spokesman for the political wing of the Houthis claimed they had not conceded defeat and made no concessions to the U.S., instead saying America had retreated after realizing, quote, it is in a losing battle.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What announcement did President Trump make about the Houthis?
0:12–3:24
2
What are the implications of the ceasefire in the Red Sea?
3:24–13:00
3
How did India respond to the attacks in Kashmir?
13:00–15:18
4
What were the reactions from Pakistan regarding India's strikes?
15:18
5
What surprise move did Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth make?
12:19–22:03
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from The President's Daily Brief
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