Yemeni Official: No ceasefire talks with Washington

Shafaq News/ A senior Yemeni military official denied any ceasefire agreements between the Houthis and the United States or Israel, affirming that military operations were escalating amid continued US airstrikes.

“There is no intention or effort to halt fire,” Abed Mohammed, a military adviser at the Houthis-affiliated Defense Ministry, told Shafaq News in an exclusive interview. He noted that battles had “reached their peak,” with the US signaling further escalation by extending the USS Harry S. Truman’s deployment for another month and considering sending an additional aircraft carrier.

Mohammed revealed that Yemeni forces had engaged four aircraft carriers, forcing the deployment of a fifth, and claimed increasing American losses while emphasizing Yemen’s capability to target US strategic assets in the region.

In a separate interview, strategic and military expert Brigadier General Yahya Hassan Al-Houthi dismissed any possibility of a truce “unless our demands are fulfilled.”

“These include an end to aggression against Gaza, the lifting of blockades, and the delivery of humanitarian aid such as food, water, and medicine. We also demand the initiation of reconstruction negotiations,” Al-Houthi said.

Over the weekend, Washington intensified strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz stated that the US had eliminated key figures within the group, including a senior missile expert.

“We've taken out key Houthi leadership, including their head missileer. We've hit their headquarters, communications nodes, weapons factories, and even some of their over-the-water drone production facilities,” Waltz told CBS News, though he declined to name the official or provide details on other casualties.

However, Yemeni sources told Shafaq News that the target was Mansour Al-Saadi, a top naval strategist sanctioned by the US. He was reportedly wounded in an airstrike and transported to Sanaa for treatment.

On Sunday, the Houthis claimed responsibility for two attacks—one targeting Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv and another on the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea.