Saudi Arabia is facing growing difficulties in countering the resurgent Ansar Allah, commonly known as the Houthis, in Yemen, while its key ally, the US, may have reached an understanding with the Iran-backed group, potentially leaving Riyadh to confront the threat largely by itself. Reports of direct contact between Washington and the Houthis could significantly alter the dynamics of the Yemen conflict.
The Iran-backed Houthis launched a surprise offensive last week, rapidly advancing along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and capturing several islands near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategically important route for Saudi oil exports. Meanwhile, Houthi drones and missiles have continued to threaten Saudi cities and energy facilities, with one drone triggering civil defence alerts in the holy city of Mecca.
Saudi-backed forces have been unable to stop the Ansar Allah advance, while repeated airstrikes have failed to push the Houthis out of the areas they have seized. At the same time, Riyadh’s allies have shown little willingness to get directly involved.
Pakistan and Turkey, both members of the Mecca Defence Alliance, have completely ruled out participating in combat operations in Yemen. The US and UK have also declined Saudi requests for airstrikes against Houthi positions. Reports have even suggested that Saudi Arabia sought intelligence support from Israel, despite Riyadh not recognising Israel as an independent state.
The Houthis have historically been hostile towards the United States. Washington designated Ansar Allah as a “foreign terrorist organisation” in March 2025 and has previously conducted bombing campaigns against Houthi weapons stockpiles and missile-production facilities. However, the two sides may now have reached some form of understanding, potentially leaving Saudi Arabia in a difficult position.
US OFFICIALS, HOUTHI REPRESENTATIVES MET IN OMAN
Reuters was the first to report the meeting between US and Houthi representatives. On September 16, the agency reported that US officials had met Houthi representatives in Oman over the preceding weekend, shortly after the group’s rapid offensive along Yemen’s Red Sea coastline. The meeting reportedly took place at the US Embassy in Muscat and was facilitated by Oman, which has long played the role of a regional mediator.
According to reports from The Times of Israel and Al Jazeera, the Houthis told American officials during the meeting, reportedly held on Sunday, that they had no plans to attack US vessels and remained committed to the 2025 ceasefire with Washington. Reuters also reported that the Houthi delegation assured the US that Israeli shipping would not be targeted, while warning that Saudi vessels operating in the Red Sea would remain targets.
Reuters identified the American participants as embassy personnel. The Houthi delegation reportedly included senior figures such as Mohammad Abdulsalam, who is under US sanctions, and Abdelmalik al-Ajiri.
After the meeting, US Vice President JD Vance was reported by Axios to have told journalists on Monday that Washington was negotiating directly with the Houthis. “We've also been engaged in direct conversations with the Houthis themselves, so we actually feel like we are on top of the situation,” he said.
DID THE US SIGN A DEAL WITH THE HOUTHIS AFTER MUSCAT MEET?
Although Vice President JD Vance has confirmed that Washington is in negotiations with Ansar Allah, there is currently no official confirmation from either side that a formal agreement has been signed.
However, several developments suggest that some form of understanding may have emerged. An unnamed State Department spokesperson quoted by Axios said that one of the United States’ “core interests” in the Middle East is maintaining freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and surrounding region.
Those interests prompted the Joe Biden administration to launch an extensive bombing campaign against the Houthis in 2024 after the group severely disrupted shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait through sustained missile and drone attacks on commercial vessels.
Washington eventually reached a ceasefire with the Houthis in 2025. Under that arrangement, Ansar Allah agreed to stop attacking vessels in the Red Sea, with Israeli-linked ships being an exception.
By September 2026, however, the strategic situation has changed. The US is now involved in a war with Iran and may not have the same resources it possessed in 2024 to conduct another prolonged military campaign against the Houthis or prevent another attempt to restrict traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb.
Against this background, the reported Houthi assurance that freedom of navigation would be respected for international and other vessels, while Saudi ships would remain excluded, may have provided Washington with a reason to pursue an understanding with the group.
Nabeel Khoury, a former US deputy ambassador to Yemen, told The Guardian that there appears to be a “kind of tacit understanding” between the Trump administration and the Houthis following the Muscat talks.
“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,” Khoury told the newspaper.
Washington’s decision to refrain from striking Houthi positions despite condemning the group’s attacks could therefore be linked to assurances that wider commercial shipping would remain unharmed in the Red Sea. However, neither side has officially confirmed that such an understanding exists.
Regardless of whether the arrangement eventually proves to be a formal agreement or merely an informal understanding, it could have significant consequences for Saudi Arabia. Riyadh’s allies in Yemen have so far failed to contain the Houthis, while hundreds of Saudi airstrikes have also been unable to decisively stop their operations.
With Ansar Allah continuing its campaign and major allies such as the US and Pakistan showing little interest in direct military intervention, Saudi Arabia may increasingly have to confront the Houthi threat with limited outside support.
