Houthis tell US ships are safe as they warn nations over Saudi war
A senior Houthi official has warned countries against joining Saudi Arabia in Yemen's renewed civil war, while saying the Iran-backed group has assured the Trump administration that it will not target US vessels in the Red Sea.
Mohamed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthis' political bureau, told The Associated Press that Washington reached out after the rebels' rapid advance down Yemen's western coast to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait earlier this month. "We confirmed that we are not targeting the United States, or any other nation, in the strait, with the sole exception of the Saudi enemy," he said in a Zoom interview from Sanaa. "That remains the case."
US President Donald Trump last weekend said his administration has "had discussions" with the Houthis, without saying when. "The Houthis called us, and they don't want to fight with us," he said. "They would much prefer not having us involved, and they're letting most ships go through."
The AP later reported that Oman hosted a meeting between US and Houthi representatives last weekend, citing a Houthi official and another person familiar with the talks. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media. Al-Bukhaiti, however, only confirmed indirect contacts with US officials through Oman, which brokered a 2025 ceasefire between the Houthis and the Trump administration. That agreement ended a week-long US bombing campaign in return for the rebels stopping attacks on US vessels in the Red Sea.
Al-Bukhaiti said the Houthis were not trying to shut the waterway. "The goal of our military operations is not to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, but rather to ensure freedom of navigation through it for everyone, including Yemen," he said.
He said the group could fight on several fronts if other countries joined Saudi Arabia in the conflict. "Today, Yemen is capable of waging battle -- not merely an internal conflict, but an international one as well," he said. He added that Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia would continue until Riyadh ended its decade-long blockade of rebel-held areas and allowed vessels to reach Houthi-controlled ports on the Red Sea. He said the group would then be ready to negotiate.
Al-Bukhaiti blamed Saudi Arabia for the latest escalation, saying it followed an airstrike blamed on the Saudi-led coalition that hit Sanaa international airport and stopped an Iranian flight carrying a Houthi delegation from landing. He said the flight was meant to challenge the coalition's air and naval blockade. The Houthis then launched missile and drone strikes on Saudi Arabia, including one targeting Riyadh on Saturday before it was intercepted. Saudi officials said debris from a Houthi drone killed one civilian and injured others.
The Houthis have also declared a blockade on Saudi shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea, and have attacked Saudi-linked vessels and oil facilities inside the kingdom. The US, which bombed the Houthis under the Biden and Trump administrations, has shown no interest in getting involved militarily this time. The report said Saudi Arabia and its allies have long struggled to contain the Houthis, and a diplomatic solution could ultimately require US concessions to Iran, the only country with leverage over the group, though Washington's negotiations with Tehran over their own war collapsed weeks ago.
The rebels' advance inside Yemen captured the key port city of Mokha and strategic Red Sea islands, giving them greater ability to monitor shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb, a route through which about 12 per cent of world trade normally passes. Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces, divided for years, withdrew but have said they will regroup.
The latest escalation ended a 2022 ceasefire that had largely halted fighting in Yemen's civil war. The conflict began when the Houthis swept out of their mountainous heartland and took much of northern and central Yemen, including Sanaa, 12 years ago. The Saudi-led coalition entered the war the following year in support of the internationally recognised government. According to UN estimates, the war has killed at least 150,000 people and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine. Al-Bukhaiti said the Houthis now believe the balance has shifted in their favour. "Ultimately, (Saudi Arabia) lost its most critical card: the west coast," he said.
In sum, the Houthis are signalling that they do not want a confrontation with the US in the Red Sea, while making clear that their conflict with Saudi Arabia will continue as the balance on the ground in Yemen changes.
