WASHINGTON — Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement reportedly assured US officials during a secret meeting in Oman over the weekend that it would target only Saudi-linked vessels and leave other commercial shipping undisturbed in the Red Sea.
The pledge came as the rebel group made a rapid push along Yemen’s western coastline, capturing strategic towns and islands near the Bab al-Mandab Strait from fighters aligned with Saudi Arabia. The Houthis also struck a major east-west oil pipeline running through Saudi territory.
According to a report first published Wednesday by the Times of Israel, the Houthis and the Trump administration have observed an Oman-brokered truce since May. During talks in Muscat, the group reportedly agreed to preserve the existing arrangement.
Oil prices surged worldwide as the Houthi offensive fueled concerns that access to the Suez Canal could face restrictions similar to those affecting the Strait of Hormuz, threatening a vital route for global shipping.
The reported commitment to spare non-Saudi commercial vessels may help explain why the United States has not intervened directly against the Houthi advance. Washington has long backed Riyadh’s campaign to restore Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which was forced out of the capital, Sanaa, in 2014.
Although the Trump administration designated the Houthis as a terrorist organization in March, the Shiite movement has so far stopped short of directly supporting Iran in its confrontation with the United States, instead maintaining the Oman-brokered ceasefire.
Yemen has remained caught in a wider regional power struggle since longtime US ally Ali Abdullah Saleh was removed during the Arab Spring protests in 2012, creating conditions that helped the Houthis expand their influence.
In December, the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council took control of much of the former South Yemen, pursuing independence and seeking to revive the Aden-based state that merged with the more populous north in 1990.
A swift Saudi military campaign defeated the southern separatists, leading the United Arab Emirates to pull its forces out of the anti-Houthi coalition.
