U.S. Officials Held Talks With Houthis in Oman as Red Sea Tensions Escalate, Sources Say

By Timour Azhari, Alexander Cornwell and Gram Slattery

Sept. 15 — U.S. officials met with representatives of Yemen’s Houthis in Oman over the weekend, five people familiar with the matter said, days after the Iran-backed group seized a strategic stretch of Red Sea coastline during an offensive that forced Saudi-backed forces into retreat.

The previously undisclosed meeting was held at the U.S. Embassy in Muscat, according to three sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. Two others said Oman’s government, a longstanding regional mediator, helped arrange the talks.

The Trump administration designated the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization in March 2025, criminalizing support for the group. Washington has nevertheless continued negotiations with the movement, securing a ceasefire in May after two months of U.S. strikes intended to stop attacks on Red Sea shipping.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that the Houthis had contacted his administration and asked the United States to stay out of Yemen’s war. Vice President JD Vance said Monday that Washington was in direct communication with the group, without providing further details.

During the meeting, which one source said took place Sunday, Houthi representatives told U.S. officials that they did not intend to attack American vessels and remained committed to the 2025 ceasefire with Washington, two sources said.

A Yemeni source said the Houthis also stated that they would not target Israeli or other commercial ships, except vessels belonging to Saudi Arabia.

Two sources said the United States was represented by embassy personnel.

One source said the Houthi delegation included Mohammad Abdulsalam, a senior official based in Muscat who is under U.S. sanctions. Another source confirmed that Abdulsalam attended alongside senior Houthi official Abdelmalik al-Ajiri.

When asked whether U.S. officials had met the Houthis in Oman, a State Department spokesperson did not confirm the talks but said that protecting freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and preventing the export of terrorism from the Middle East were core U.S. interests.

Oman’s embassy in Washington and Abdulsalam did not respond to requests for comment.

The Houthis last week took effective control of Yemen’s entire Red Sea coastline, including the historic port of Mocha and Perim Island in Bab el-Mandeb, the strait known as the “Gate of Tears” at the southern entrance to the Red Sea.

The Houthis seized Yemen’s capital in 2014 and have fought a Saudi-led coalition for more than a decade. Although the war had largely subsided under a ceasefire in recent years, fighting resumed in July after the Houthis announced a blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea in response to a Saudi blockade of Yemeni ports.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, called Trump last week to seek U.S. military support as the Houthis advanced rapidly. Reuters reported that Washington told Riyadh it would not become directly involved in the fighting.

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