Trump Says Houthis Reached Out to Avoid U.S. Fight as Red Sea Pressure Builds

Trump said during his September 12 visit to Dublin that Yemen’s Houthi movement had contacted Washington to say it did not want a conflict with the United States. “The Houthis called us and they don’t want to fight with us,” he told reporters, adding that they did not want the U.S. to go after them. The statement was Trump’s account; no immediate public confirmation from the Houthis was reported. 2

Why the remarks mattered

The comments arrived during a rapid Houthi offensive along Yemen’s Red Sea coast. Yemeni government sources told Reuters that the group had reached Perim, also known as Mayun, in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait after advancing along the coast. Control of positions around Perim and the nearby town of Dhubab would strengthen the group’s ability to threaten traffic through the narrow waterway linking the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. 17

That matters because the Bab el-Mandeb is a major global maritime chokepoint. Reuters reported that Houthi dominance there could further isolate Gulf oil producers from key shipping routes, after the movement declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia.

A new problem for Saudi oil exports

Saudi Arabia had been relying more heavily on its Red Sea export route as disruption around the Strait of Hormuz constrained Gulf shipping. But Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline—which had helped ease the Hormuz bottleneck—was temporarily shut after a drone attack from Iraq. 17

The Houthi advance toward Bab el-Mandeb therefore created pressure at the other end of Saudi Arabia’s alternative oil route. Reuters described the offensive as giving Iran potential leverage over both of the region’s principal oil-shipping corridors. 18

Trump declined direct U.S. strikes, reports said

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sought U.S. military help against the Houthis in at least two calls with Trump, according to three sources familiar with the matter cited by Reuters. Trump did not agree to U.S. strikes, the sources said. Instead, Washington told Riyadh it would assist with intelligence sharing and targeting. 1

That approach left the U.S. short of direct intervention even as Trump publicly cast the Houthi message as a sign that a confrontation with Washington could be avoided.

What Trump said about Iran, Hormuz and oil

In Dublin, Trump said he expected the war with Iran to end “very soon,” while also suggesting it could end after the November midterm elections. He said Iran had been close to obtaining a nuclear weapon and would not be allowed to do so. Reports from the visit also quoted him as saying the Strait of Hormuz situation would “work out fine” and predicting that oil prices would fall.

Those were predictions and political assessments, not a confirmed timetable for an end to the war or a reopening of shipping routes.

Hormuz diplomacy was moving, but unresolved

Iran and Oman had been discussing a phased framework for ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which had remained largely shut down for months. Their talks included a proposed temporary joint shipping corridor and mine-clearance work, according to the Associated Press.

By early September, Iran said negotiations over a temporary safe route had reached their final stage. Iranian officials also planned broader discussions with Gulf foreign ministers on security and shipping. 11

The parallel crises in Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb illustrate the central stakes behind Trump’s remarks: even a reported Houthi preference to avoid a fight with the U.S. did not remove the risk to regional shipping, Saudi exports or global energy flows.