Yemen's Houthis Pledge to US Not to Expand Iran War to Red Sea
In secret talks in Oman, the Iran-backed group reportedly agreed to limit attacks to Saudi vessels and allow commercial shipping to continue.
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement has assured U.S. officials that it will refrain from expanding the conflict to the Red Sea, promising to limit attacks to Saudi Arabian ships and permit commercial traffic to continue. These assurances were reportedly made during a secret summit held in Oman over the weekend, according to sources cited by The Times of Israel.
The Houthi advance along Yemen's western coast over the past week saw the group seize key towns and offshore islands near the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Simultaneously, they carried out a bombing attack on a crucial east-west oil pipeline within Saudi Arabia.
The truce between the Houthis and the Trump administration, brokered by Oman, has been in place since May. During the recent discussions in Muscat, the Houthi group agreed to maintain the existing status quo, thereby preventing a broader regional escalation.
Global oil prices saw an increase during the Houthi offensive amid concerns that the vital shipping lane, a key approach to the Suez Canal, could become inaccessible to international traffic, mirroring the situation at the Strait of Hormuz.
The Houthi pledge to avoid interfering with non-Saudi shipping may explain the U.S. administration's decision not to directly intervene against the group's recent territorial gains, despite long-standing U.S. support for Saudi Arabia's efforts to restore the internationally recognized Yemeni government. The Houthi movement, designated as a terrorist group by the Trump administration in March, has thus far adhered to the Omani-brokered truce, avoiding direct confrontation with the United States.
Yemen has been a focal point of regional power struggles since the 2012 ousting of long-time U.S.-allied dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh, which contributed to the Houthis' rise. The conflict has also seen internal fragmentation, including the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council's seizure of territory in the south and subsequent withdrawal of UAE forces from the anti-Houthi coalition after a Saudi intervention.
