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United States President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would soon make a “very, very big announcement” ahead of his upcoming trip to the Middle East next week.
“We’re going to have a very, very big announcement to make. Like, as big as it gets, and I won’t tell you on what. And it’s very positive,” Trump said in the Oval Office, without elaborating.
"It'll be one of the most important announcements that have been made in years about a certain subject," Trump said.
Trump did not offer further clues. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was opening a meeting with Trump, responded drily: "I'm on the edge of my seat."
Trump heads next week to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on the first foreign trip of his second term other than a brief stop in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis.
Diplomats say that the United States is hoping for progress ahead of Trump's trip on Gaza, where Israel has cut off shipments of food and other supplies for two months as it unleashes a renewed assault.
Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden have both sought recognition of Israel by Saudi Arabia, but the Saudis have stated that they first need to see progress towards a Palestinian state.
Israel has said it will further displace most of Gaza's population, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich vowing Tuesday that the territory "will be entirely destroyed," a year and a half after Gaza-based Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel.
The United States has stood by Israel but also held out hope of a new deal that would include the return of hostages from Gaza. Qatar, the key intermediary, has said it is keeping up efforts.
Trump is also hoping for major business deals when he visits the three oil-rich monarchies.
Meanwhile, Trump also made a surprise statement saying that Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have agreed to stop attacking commercial vessels.
The Houthis began targeting ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in late 2023, citing support for Palestinians in Gaza — which has suffered under intense Israeli bombardment following a surprise Hamas assault that year.
“The Houthis have announced… that they don’t want to fight anymore. They just don’t want to fight. And we will honor that, and we will stop the bombings, and they have capitulated,” Trump said.
“They say they will not be blowing up ships anymore, and that’s... the purpose of what we were doing,” he added, noting that the information came from a “very, very good source.”
The Houthi attacks have severely disrupted shipping through the Suez Canal, which typically carries around 12 percent of global maritime traffic.
U.S. launched initial strikes against Huthi positions under President Joe Biden in early 2024. Trump's administration resumed and expanded those operations starting March 15.
The Pentagon reported last week that U.S. forces had hit more than 1,000 targets across Yemen since mid-March under the ongoing operation dubbed “Rough Rider.”
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