Why did Trump halt the strikes against the Houthis?

An investigation published Monday night by the New York Times sheds light on the decision-making process in the United States that led to the cessation of strikes against the Houthis in Yemen.

According to sources in the administration who spoke with the newspaper, U.S. President Trump, who has always feared military entanglement in the Middle East, demanded to see significant results within 30 days of the start of the air campaign, which began about two months ago.

However, by the 31st day of the operation, the picture presented to Trump was far from satisfactory. The U.S. military failed to establish air superiority, the Houthis shot down several expensive American drones of the MQ-9 Reaper type, and continued their attacks on ships in the Red Sea, including firing at U.S. Navy vessels.

Meanwhile, the financial cost of the strikes skyrocketed, reaching about a billion dollars in the first month alone for weapons and ammunition.The tipping point for Trump seemed to have come when two fighter jets worth $67 million each, which were intended for strikes in Yemen, fell into the sea from the deck of an aircraft carrier.

Concurrently, it was reported that Steve Witkoff, Trump's envoy to the Middle East, who was involved in talks with Iran mediated by Oman, received an offer from Oman for direct mediation with the Houthis. According to the offer, the U.S. would stop bombings, and the Houthis would stop attacking American ships - but would be allowed to continue attacking vessels linked to Israel.

In light of the combination of circumstances - lack of military success, high costs, the expensive accident, and the diplomatic option - on May 5, a sudden order came from the White House to U.S. Central Command to "pause" offensive actions against the Houthis.The decision stood in contrast to the original plan, as reported by the Times from three American sources.

The initial plan was to attack the Houthis for eight to ten months, and then to move to a phase of targeted eliminations against the organization's leadership, similar to the strategy Israel adopted against Hezbollah. In this framework, Saudi officials even provided the Americans with a list of 12 senior Houthi leaders as potential targets. However, the United Arab Emirates, another important ally of the U.S., expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of the plan and reminded that the Houthis had proven resilience and endurance against years of bombings by Saudi Arabia and the Emirates.