Houthi ceasefire followed US intel showing militants sought off-ramp

Days before a surprise U.S. ceasefire agreement with Houthis, U.S. intelligence started picking up indications the Yemeni fighters were looking for an exit after seven weeks of relentless U.S. bombings, four U.S. officials said.Houthi leaders began reaching out sometime around the first weekend in May to U.S. allies in the Middle East, two of the officials said.

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The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here. "We started getting intel that the Houthis had had enough," one of the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity to recount the internal discussions about the intelligence, which haven't been previously reported.

Interviews with current and former U.S. officials, diplomatic sources and other experts show how a campaign that the U.S. military's Central Command once envisioned might stretch through most of this year came to abrupt halt on May 6 after 52 days, allowing President Donald Trump to declare victory before heading to the Middle East this week. Since November 2023, the Houthis have disrupted commerce by launching hundreds of drone and missile attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, saying they were targeting ships linked to Israel in solidarity with Palestinians over the war in Gaza. Two sources said Iran played an important role in encouraging the Iran-aligned Houthis to negotiate, as Tehran pursues its own talks with the United States over its nuclear program aimed at ending crippling U.S. sanctions and preventing a military strike by the U.S. or Israel.