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Trump says Houthis agree not to fight US, as attacks mount against Saudi allies: Fox News

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The Straits Times. (2026, September 20). Trump says Houthis agree not to fight US, as attacks mount against Saudi allies: Fox News. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/trump-says-houthis-agree-not-to-fight-us-as-attacks-mount-on-saudi-allies-fox-news

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The Straits Times · collected 2026-09-20 · by The Straits Times

Quick Summary

President Donald Trump told Fox News on September 20 that Yemen's Houthi rebels have agreed not to attack the United States, despite escalating attacks against Saudi Arabia. During a visit to Ireland on September 12, Trump had previously claimed that the Houthis do not want to fight US forces in the region after calling them directly. Meanwhile, tensions with Iran remain high as the President considers his next move regarding the country following an earlier bombing campaign launched by US and Israeli forces against Iranian targets.
Written by AI on 2026-09-20, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The Houthis, backed by Iran, are rapidly advancing in Yemen and threatening critical waterways like the Bab al-Mandeb strait. President Trump spoke with Yemen's president Rashad al-Alimi about the situation but did not pledge military support to his Saudi-backed government. The U.S. had prepared airstrikes against the Houthis at Riyadh’s request but ultimately canceled them, even as bombs were loaded onto planes. This decision reflects a reluctance by the U.S. to engage militarily in the region and highlights the complex geopolitical dynamics between the U.S., Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Yemen's government is seeking direct military aid from the U.S., fearing that without such support, the Houthis will continue to expand their control over strategic areas. The cancellation of airstrikes also underscores Trump’s strategy to reduce America’s entanglement in Middle Eastern conflicts. Despite this, tensions remain high as the Houthis push for more territory and threaten global shipping routes. Trump's decision to not intervene militarily is seen by some analysts as a necessary step to break a cycle of codependency between the U.S. and its Gulf allies. However, it also raises questions about how effectively these nations can defend themselves without American support.

Written for “Houthis Fighting in Yemen” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 17 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Houthis Fighting in Yemen
Politics · 18 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 10% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Hindu
Hedges 1 of 9 claims Outlet record 60/100
Washington Examiner
Hedges 2 of 16 claims Outlet record 70/100
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 2 of 36 claims Outlet record 66/100
ABC News (AU)
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 0 of 1 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe different events; one covers ongoing attacks by Houthis on Saudi Arabia, while the other reports Trump's claim about Houthis agreeing not to fight the US.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 6 of 33 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe different aspects of interactions between Trump and Saudi Arabia regarding the Houthis - one about communication and agreement not to fight, the other about rejecting a plea for help.”
CBS News
Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different aspects of the situation regarding Trump's actions and communications with the Houthis on separate days.”
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 6 of 32 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles describe different aspects of the conflict involving the Houthis, with Article A focusing on Trump's claims about communication and agreement with the Houthis not to fight the US, while Article B reports ongoing battles in Yemen and a report of a cancelled military strike.”
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 2 of 56 claims Outlet record 70/100
“Article A discusses Trump's claim that Houthis have agreed not to attack US on September 20, while Article B provides a broader commentary about military intervention in the Middle East without specifying the same incident or date.”
NBC News
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 3 of 23 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles describe different interactions related to Yemen and the Houthis occurring on different dates.”
The Straits Times
Hedges 3 of 27 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss related events but describe different moments in time and distinct outcomes regarding the conflict.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
10
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
10%
1 of 10 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
66/100
The Straits Times's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
18
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-20 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Straits Times · 4115 article(s) · 5 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 5 correction(s)

Who wrote this

The Straits Times
2652 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by The Straits Times
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 2652 articles by The Straits Times →

Topics

Fox News Houthis Saudi Arabia Washington Yemen

Subjects

Houthis NORP · 6× Trump PERSON · 6× Fox News ORG · 4× Saudi Arabia GPE · 3× Iran GPE · 2× Washington GPE · 2× Yemen GPE · 2× the United States GPE · 2× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× Saudi NORP · 1×

Narrative

The network’s reporter Trey Yingst, who often talks to Trump, cited the President saying that Washington is “in constant communication with the Houthis and that they’ve agreed not to fight the United States”.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-20
🔮 Yingst said Trump told him that “big things will be happening in the not-so-distant future” and that “Iranians better behave, and he is making this decision as to whether or not to blow up their nation”.

Claims (10 extracted, 1 hedged)

Trump says Houthis agree not to fight US, as attacks mount against Saudi allies: Fox News AI generated asserted
attacks → say → allies
US President Donald Trump said on Sept 20 that Yemen’s Houthis have agreed not to attack the United States, despite the Iran-allied group stepping up its war against US ally Saudi Arabia, Fox News reported. asserted
News → say → Arabia
The network’s reporter Trey Yingst, who often talks to Trump, cited the President saying that Washington is “in constant communication with the Houthis and that they’ve agreed not to fight the United States”. asserted
they → talk → States
Trump has made the claim before that the Houthis are holding back from attacking US forces in the region. uncertain
Houthis → make → region
“The Houthis called us and they don’t want to fight with us,” Trump said during a visit to Ireland on Sept 12. asserted
Trump → call → Sept
“They don’t want us to go after them.” asserted
us → want → them
But the latest comments to Fox News came as close US ally Saudi Arabia is under growing pressure, with a missile targeting the capital Riyadh on Sept 19. asserted
Arabia → come → Sept
The Houthis have also staged a rapid offensive inside Yemen, seizing swaths of territory from the internationally recognised government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia. asserted
which → stag → Arabia
Fox News reported that Trump is in “deciding mode” on Iran, where US and Israeli forces launched a massive aerial bombing campaign on Feb 28 before settling into a now almost-seven-month stand-off. asserted
forces → report → off
Yingst said Trump told him that “big things will be happening in the not-so-distant future” and that “Iranians better behave, and he is making this decision as to whether or not to blow up their nation”. asserted
he → say → nation
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