US opts out of Saudi-Houthi tussle after meeting militant leaders: Report

Officials from the United States held a meeting with the Houthi leaders as the Yemeni group remains embroiled in conflict with Saudi Arabia.

Officials from the United States held a meeting with the Houthi leaders as the Yemeni group remains embroiled in conflict with Saudi Arabia. According to The Guardian, the meeting took place in the US embassy in Muscat, Oman, and reportedly led to the US decision not to intervene or help Saudi Arabia drive back a Houthi advance inside Yemen.

During the meeting, the Iran-backed militant group reassured the US officials that the ceasefire agreement between the two sides struck in 2025 still held and the movement had no intention of attacking US shipping in the Red Sea. Only Saudi-linked shipping was regarded as a target owing to its blockade of Yemen. The report was confirmed by the Houthis.

Following the clashes, US President Donald Trump condemned the Houthi advance down the west coast of Yemen, calling it a threat to the freedom of navigation through the Bab al-Mandeb strait. However, he has so far rejected any military response in support of Riyadh.

Meanwhile, the United States is already embroiled in an expensive and resource-sapping conflict with Iran, which backs the Houthis. It is pertinent to note that the United States have labelled the Houthis as a foreign terrorist entity in March 2025, but in the recent past American officials have met leaders from Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. The US vice-president, JD Vance, confirmed on Monday that the US was in direct contact with the Houthis.

The United States' refusal to become directly involved in the ongoing tensions has put pressure on Saudi Arabia to reach either a diplomatic solution with the Houthis over the future of the governance of Yemen or try to build a regional alliance with Pakistan and Turkey to force the Houthis back.

A former deputy US ambassador to Yemen, Nabeel Khoury, said a “kind of tacit understanding” had been struck between the Trump administration and the Houthis, the Guardian reported. “The Houthis are promising the American administration that American and international navigation will not be affected in the Red Sea, but the only danger is to Saudi ships or those carrying Saudi oil," he added.

In the midst of all this, a meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday condemned any attempt to close the Red Sea, but the meeting was notable for the Russian envoy beginning to edge away from its previous stance that the UN-recognised government based in Aden was the only legitimate government inside the country.