US Held Secret Talks with Houthis, and Gave Green Light to Attack Saudi Arabia
American officials met covertly with Yemeni terror group leaders in Oman, reaching understandings that attacks may continue against the Saudis as long as international shipping lanes remain untouched
U.S. officials held a previously undisclosed meeting with representatives of Yemen's Houthis in Oman over the weekend, days after the Iran-backed group seized a strategic stretch of the Red Sea coast from Saudi-backed forces, Reuters reported, citing five sources familiar with the matter.
According to two of the sources, the Houthis told the American side that they had no intention of attacking U.S. vessels and remained committed to the ceasefire they reached with Washington in 2025. One source, a Yemeni, said the Houthis also pledged not to attack Israeli ships or any other commercial vessels, except those belonging to Saudi Arabia.
The meeting was held at the U.S. Embassy in Muscat, according to three of the sources, and one said it took place on Sunday. Two said Oman, a longtime regional mediator, helped arrange it. The U.S. was represented by embassy staff. The Houthi delegation included Mohammad Abdulsalam, a senior official based in Muscat who is under U.S. sanctions, and another senior official, Abdelmalik al-Ajiri, according to the sources.
The State Department did not confirm the meeting, but a spokesperson said protecting freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and preventing the export of terrorism from the Middle East were core U.S. interests. Oman's embassy in Washington and Abdulsalam did not respond to requests for comment.
The talks come as the Houthis press a sweeping offensive along Yemen's western coast, including the capture of the port of Mocha and Perim Island at the mouth of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, one of the world's most important shipping chokepoints. Saudi warplanes have struck Houthi positions, and the group has launched attacks on Saudi Arabia, including missile launches toward Mecca and Jeddah this week.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called President Donald Trump last week to ask for U.S. military support, and Washington told Riyadh it would not become directly involved in the fighting, Reuters reported. Trump said on Saturday that the Houthis had called his administration asking the U.S. to stay out of the war in Yemen.
The Trump administration designated the Houthis a foreign terrorist organization in March 2025, making support for the group a crime. Washington nonetheless reached a ceasefire with the Houthis that May, after two months of U.S. airstrikes aimed at stopping their attacks on Red Sea shipping.