Reuters: US officials held secret talks with Houthis in Muscat as Saudi ships remain potential targets
US officials held a previously undisclosed meeting with senior representatives of Yemen’s Houthis at the US Embassy in Muscat, Oman, over the weekend, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing five sources familiar with the talks.
According to Reuters, Oman helped arrange the meeting, which one source said took place on Sunday. The Houthi delegation included senior official Mohammad Abdulsalam, who is under US sanctions, as well as Abdelmalik al-Ajiri, while the American side was represented by embassy personnel.
The meeting provides new details about direct contacts that had already been acknowledged publicly by Washington. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the Houthis had contacted his administration asking the United States to stay out of the renewed Yemen war, while Vice President JD Vance said on Monday that Washington was in direct contact with the group.
Two sources told Reuters that Houthi representatives said they had no intention of attacking American vessels and remained committed to the ceasefire reached with Washington in 2025. A Yemeni source said the group also indicated it would not attack Israeli ships or other commercial vessels, with the exception of ships belonging to Saudi Arabia.
The US State Department did not confirm the reported meeting. A spokesperson said safeguarding freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and preventing the export of terrorism from the Middle East remained core US interests.
The talks come amid a sharp escalation in Yemen. The Houthis have expanded their control along the Red Sea coast and around the Bab al-Mandab Strait, while fighting with Saudi-backed forces has intensified. Saudi Arabia has also faced renewed Houthi missile and drone attacks.
Washington designated the Houthis a foreign terrorist organization in March 2025, but the two sides have negotiated since then. They reached a ceasefire in May 2025 after a two-month US bombing campaign aimed at stopping attacks on Red Sea shipping.
Source: Reuters.
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