Trump Says Houthis Agree to Stop Attacking Ships; Israel Concerned Terror Group's Missiles Will Continue

JERUSALEM, Israel – President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the Houthis agreed to stop attacking global shipping in the Red Sea, but the Iranian-backed terror group also plans to continue its attacks on the Jewish state.

Trump made the stunning announcement Tuesday, one day after Israel leveled the Yemeni capital's main airport, used by the Houthis for weapons trafficking.

From the Oval Office at the beginning of a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the president announced, "They (the Houthis) just don't wanna fight. And we will honor that. And we will stop the bombings, and they have capitulated."

That appears to leave Israel on its own to defend itself against the Houthis, who claim they're going to hit the Jewish nation so hard in the coming days that all Israelis are advised to stay in their bomb shelters.

Shimon Myers from the Alliance to Restore Israel's Security and Economy told CBN News, "It is also the airport that I understand that is highly strategic through which arms that are coming, that are coming from Iran and other places that are used in these missile attacks on Israel." 

That threat comes after twenty Israeli aircraft devastated the Houthis' main port Monday and destroyed its main airport Tuesday. Video from the airport showed airliners that were blown apart and buildings that were set ablaze all across the Sana'a airport.

The massive strike was retaliation for the Houthis hitting Israel's Ben Gurion Airport with a missile on Sunday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained, "I said that the Houthi attack would be answered not with 'bang and we're done' - but with 'bangs'."

He warned that those "bangs" could soon hit the Houthis' main ally as well.

“And this also concerns the patron of the Houthis, Iran, without whose approval and long-term support, the Houthis cannot carry out their criminal missile attack on us," Netanyahu said.

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Defense Minister Israel Katz branded Iran and its proxies "the Iranian octopus" as he threatened the regime.

Katz told Tehran, “You bear direct responsibility for every attack by the Houthi octopus’ arm against the State of Israel, and you will also bear the full consequences."

Iranian leaders claim the Houthis in Yemen are acting on their own and that they are innocent.

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei declared, "All accusations against Iran in connection with what Yemenis are doing are baseless."

Iran contends it has a legal right to strike back at any nation that would attack it. 

Baghaei added, “If an assault is made against the Islamic Republic of Iran from any country’s soil, based on international law, that spot will be considered a legitimate target.”

Meanwhile, President Trump has repeated his desire to make a deal rather than bomb Iran to keep it from developing nuclear weapons.

He remarked, "This is really crunch time. I would tell you for Iran and for their country, this is a very important time for Iran. This is the most important time in the history of Iran, for Iran, and I hope they do what's right. I'd love to see a peace deal, a strong peace deal. They cannot have a nuclear weapon, but I would say that this is the single most important period in the history of Iran, which is a long history."

He continued, "And we want it to be a great country. Let it be a tremendously successful, rich country. They have everything you need. The people are incredible. They have vast amounts of oil and assets. We want it to be a successful country. We don't want to do anything that's gonna get in the way of that, but they can't have a nuclear weapon, and if they choose to go a different route, it's gonna be a very sad thing, and it's something we don't wanna have to do, but we have no choice. They're not gonna have a new nuclear weapon. They're not gonna have a nuclear weapon! Do you understand that? Okay."