Houthis assured US they wouldn’t attack US vessels before White House decided not to back Saudis

Houthi terrorists in Yemen met with U.S. officials over the weekend to assure them that their military operations would not target U.S. troops or vessels, Reuters and Axios reported.

The reported talks could help explain the lack of U.S. military support for Yemen’s internationally recognized government and its Saudi backers.

According to the report, U.S. diplomats – but not the ambassador himself – met with Houthi representatives at the U.S. embassy in Muscat, Oman.

A regional source familiar with the issue confirmed to Axios that the Houthis made clear they intend to uphold the May 2025 ceasefire with the U.S., vowing to attack only Saudi ships while allowing freedom of navigation for all other ships through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

NEW: Iran’s apparent challenges in consolidating control over the Strait of Hormuz are likely driving the regional campaign that Iran is currently waging against the United States and its allies in the region. Iran’s proposal for the management of the strait, which attempts to… pic.twitter.com/5auNyZoIrD

— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) September 15, 2026

The report allows deeper insight into the reasons for the lack of U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia amid the lightning offensive by the Houthis over the past week.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly called U.S. President Donald Trump twice last week to request urgent assistance, as the Houthis raced along the Red Sea coast, capturing the port of Mokha and the length of the western coast that borders the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, as well as several islands in the waterway.

The situation hasn’t changed since, even as fighting continued to escalate with a strike conducted by Iranian-backed Iraqi militias that damaged Saudi Arabia’s strategic East-West oil pipeline, as well as a first Houthi attack on the holy city of Mecca that was thwarted on Tuesday.

Trump told reporters on Saturday that the Houthis “called us, and they don’t want to fight with us. They don’t want us to go after them,” adding that “everything’s gonna work out fine and dandy” in the region.

Trump: "The Houthis called us. They don't want to fight with us. They let us know they don't want to fight with us. They don't want us to go after them. They would much prefer not having us involved, and they are letting most ships go through. There's just one country they're not… pic.twitter.com/munm8N0Gys

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 12, 2026

Responding to the report, a State Department spokesperson stressed that the U.S. core interests in the region “include ensuring freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the region, as well as preventing the export of terrorism. The Trump Administration has clearly demonstrated its commitment to defending these interests against aggression from Iran and its proxies.”

While declining to comment “on this specific reported meeting,” the spokesperson stressed, “we remain in regular communication with our regional allies and partners regarding Yemen and are focused on our shared counterterrorism goals against the Houthis and other terrorist groups that sow chaos throughout the region.”

Speaking to the British newspaper The Guardian, Nabeel Khoury, a former deputy U.S. ambassador to Yemen, said there was now a “kind of tacit understanding” between Washington and the Houthis.

NEW: The Houthis are pursuing diplomatic efforts that are likely intended to prevent the United States or its partners from supporting or joining the Saudi offensive campaign against the Houthis by claiming that the group currently has no intention to target international… pic.twitter.com/9kTUoDi8h1

— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) September 17, 2026

“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.”

The Houthis’ outreach to the U.S. is part of an effort to consolidate their gains, Mahmoud Shehrah, an associate fellow at Britain’s Chatham House, told the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat. It is “part of a Houthi strategy that represents an extension of Iran’s and the Revolutionary Guards’ conduct and negotiating tactics,” Shehrah said.

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia said it shot down a Houthi drone near Mecca, the holiest city for Muslims worldwide. Turki al-Maliki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led Coalition Forces, noted this was the first time in almost a decade that the Houthis had targeted Mecca.

The security of the holy mosque in the city is “a red line,” he stressed, adding that the kingdom “will not hesitate to take the necessary and deterrent measures” against the terrorist group.

The Houthis strongly denied having attacked Mecca, with their deputy foreign minister responding that “whoever opened the land of the two holy mosques to debauchery and entertainment parties, and whoever defiled the land of the two holy mosques by the presence of Zionist Jews in it, is the one who targets Mecca, Medina and the Islamic holy sites.”

Mohammed al-Farah, a Houthi political bureau member, mocked the Saudis, saying the kingdom “is looking for external solutions, so it is begging the international community, warning the world about Bab al-Mandeb and requesting support from Pakistan, Turkey, America, Israel and Egypt. Then it is trying to mobilise Muslims with a false pretext called 'argeting Mecca.'"

It is confirmed. Houthis published footage of a downed Saudi @modgovksa aircraft, which they claim is an F-15 https://t.co/U650iQKrdo pic.twitter.com/2vfmh9PjQW

— Basha باشا (@BashaReport) September 16, 2026

On Wednesday, the Houthis claimed to have shot down a Saudi F-15 plane near the city of Marib, and attacked an Aramco plant in the port city of Yanbu, at the end of the damaged East-West oil pipeline.

According to The Wall Street Journal, two sources confirmed that a Saudi plane had been shot down, without giving further details.

In the south, the Houthi troops’ advance appears to have been halted, though they reportedly continue to hold Mokha, Dhubab and the key islands in the strait.