Exclusive: Houthis Say Trump Can Improve US Economy by Ending Gaza War
The Yemeni faction engaged in an unprecedented offensive against international shipping as part of the Iran-aligned Axis of Resistance’s battle with Israel has told Newsweek that President-elect Donald Trump could avoid further damage to the U.S. economy by reining in Israel’s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthi movement, began launching missiles and drones at Israel just weeks after the Palestinian Hamas movement launched its surprise attack in October 2023 that sparked the longest and deadliest war in Gaza to date. Weeks later, the Yemeni group began targeting commercial vessels accused of ties to Israel in a campaign that has led to a massive decline in shipping through the crucial Suez Canal that links the Red and Mediterranean Seas.
The mass disruptions have also caused soaring costs in global trade. Ansar Allah has vowed to press on with the offensive despite U.S. and Israeli strikes against Yemen, calling for an end to Israel’s military campaigns in Gaza and, more recently, in Lebanon.
Now, with Trump having won an election in which voters expressed deep grievances on both the economy and foreign policy issues, a source in Ansar Allah expressed skepticism that the president-elect would come through on his promises to put an end to global conflicts, though doing so would help alleviate economic woes.
“We believe that Trump will not fulfill his commitment to Arab voters and supporters of Gaza, whom he promised to stop the aggression on Gaza, but reality will answer that,” the Ansar Allah source told Newsweek.
“America is paying an economic and military price because of its support for the aggression on Gaza and also because of its aggression on Yemen in service of Israel,” he added, “because we prevent American ships from crossing the seas adjacent to Yemen in response to the American aggression on our country, and this makes the American citizen bear the high prices and all because of the American administration’s policy towards our country in service of Israel.”
Here, the Ansar Allah source said, “the question remains: Will Trump continue with the same policy and will the American aggression against Yemen continue? If it continues, the American economy will suffer more losses.”
Yemen’s Ansar Allah supporters brandish rifles and carry symbols and images of their group, Hamas and Hezbollah as they protest Israeli wars in Gaza and Lebanon, on November 1, in Sanaa. The Yemeni faction has told Newsweek that President-elect Donald Trump could avoid further damage to the U.S. economy by reining in Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.
Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images
During his previous time in office, Trump established close ties with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and expanded military cooperation with Saudi Arabia as it supported Yemen’s internationally recognized government battle Ansar Allah in Yemen. A U.N.-backed ceasefire has largely quieted Yemen’s civil war since April 2022, but the country has once again become embroiled in regional conflict through Ansar Allah’s long-range intervention in the war in Gaza over the past year.
Throughout this time, Trump has expressed his desire to bring peace to the Middle East, calling on Israel to “finish the job” against Hamas and occasionally expressing criticism of Netanyahu for his handling of the conflict.
He touted “record-breaking support” among Arab and Muslim voters in an Election Day message and claimed his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, would “invade the Middle East, get millions of Muslims killed and start World War III.”
Trump again referenced Arab and Muslim communities in his victory speech early Wednesday and hailed the fact that there were “no wars” under his presidency, save for the campaign to defeat the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) that was launched by his predecessor, former President Barack Obama. He rejected allegations that he would “start a war” during his second term, saying he would instead “stop wars.”
At the same time, Trump has signaled a harder line against Iran, which has been accused of supplying weapons to Ansar Allah and other Axis of Resistance factions, including the Lebanese Hezbollah movement.
During his congratulatory call with Trump on Wednesday, Netanyahu said he had a “warm and cordial” conversation in which the pair “agreed to work together for Israel’s security, and also discussed the Iranian threat.”
This is a developing story and further information will be added as it becomes available.