US quietly meets Houthis in Oman after rapid Red Sea advance

In the meeting, which one source said took place on Sunday, the Houthis told US officials that they had no intention of attacking American vessels and that they were committed to the 2025 ceasefire with the US, two sources said.

One of the sources, a Yemeni, said the militia group also said they would not attack Israeli ships or any commercial vessels, except those belonging to Saudi Arabia.

According to two of the sources, the US side was represented by embassy personnel.

One of those sources said the Houthi delegation included a senior official based in Muscat who is under US sanctions, Mohammad Abdulsalam. Another source confirmed Abdulsalam's presence along with that of another senior Houthi official, Abdelmalik al-Ajiri.

Asked whether the US had met with the Houthis in Oman, a State Department spokesperson did not confirm the meeting, but said safeguarding freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and preventing the export of terrorism from the Middle East were core US interests.