Houthi Official Assures U.S. of No Attacks on Vessels in Red Sea

A senior official from the Iran-backed Houthi rebels has stated that the group has assured the Trump administration it will not attack U.S. vessels in the Red Sea. Mohamed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthis’ political bureau, told The Associated Press on Sunday that Washington had reached out to the rebels following their rapid advance down Yemen’s western coast toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

"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," al-Bukhaiti said in a Zoom interview from the rebel-held capital of Sanaa. "That remains the case."

Al-Bukhaiti also issued a warning to countries against joining Saudi Arabia in Yemen’s civil war. The comments come as the Houthis recently fired a ballistic missile at Saudi Arabia's capital.

In other Middle East developments, Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, is scheduled to stop in Qatar en route to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The state-run IRNA news agency reported that Tehran is awaiting a U.S. response to conditions it conveyed through Qatar for ending the conflict. These conditions include ending the war on all fronts, releasing Iranian assets, and lifting the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe was in Egypt meeting with President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. El-Sissi's office released a statement saying he expressed support for a deal to resolve the Iranian crisis and ensure freedom of navigation, while also rejecting aggression against Arab countries. Last week, el-Sissi hosted Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, who was seeking support against attacks from Yemen's Houthi rebels. El-Sissi also urged the full implementation of the second phase of the U.S. ceasefire plan for Gaza.

In the occupied West Bank, a 30-year-old Israeli man was fatally shot near the Neve Tzuf settlement north of Ramallah. Israel's military reported that the suspected attacker opened fire from a vehicle and fled, but was later detained at a hospital after being injured while fleeing. The military also reported killing a Palestinian man who attempted a ramming attack against soldiers near Jenin shortly after, and stated they were searching for another individual who was in the vehicle. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attacks and instructed the military to expand operations in the West Bank.

Iranian authorities announced the closure of a French-language center affiliated with the French Embassy in Tehran, alleging it operated without a license and engaged in activities against national security. The judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported the Tehran prosecutor’s office ordered the closure, claiming the center used language courses as a cover for identifying and networking with Iranian elites and facilitating their departure. The French Embassy has not yet commented.