Houthis meeting in Oman puts Red Sea truce under strain

U.S. officials met representatives of the Houthis in Oman, five sources said, as new Red Sea gains raised pressure on shipping and Saudi Arabia.

Muscat meeting stays private

The encounter took place over the weekend at the U.S. Embassy in Muscat, three people familiar with the matter said. Two people said Oman, which has often mediated regional disputes, helped arrange the contact.

Embassy personnel represented the U.S. side, according to two sources. One person said the meeting occurred Sunday, while two sources identified senior Houthi officials Mohammad Abdulsalam and Abdelmalik al-Ajiri as members of the delegation.

A State Department spokesperson did not confirm the talks. The spokesperson said freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and preventing the export of terrorism from the Middle East were core U.S. interests.

A 2025 truce frames contact

The meeting came despite Washington's March 2025 designation of the Houthis as a "foreign terrorist organization," a status that criminalizes support for the group. The administration has still negotiated with the movement, including a May 2025 ceasefire after two months of U.S. strikes aimed at ending attacks on vessels using the Red Sea.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that the Houthis had contacted his administration and asked the United States not to enter Yemen's war. Vice President JD Vance said Monday that U.S. officials were speaking directly with the group, without describing the channel.

At the Muscat meeting, Houthi representatives said they did not plan to target American vessels and remained committed to the 2025 U.S. ceasefire, two sources said. One Yemeni source said the group also claimed it would avoid Israeli and commercial vessels, while reserving action against Saudi-owned ships.

Red Sea coast changes hands

The talks followed Houthi advances that gave the movement effective control over the full Yemeni shoreline along the Red Sea, including Mocha and Perim Island, according to sources familiar with the matter. Perim sits in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, the narrow entrance connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.

The Houthis took Yemen's capital in 2014 and have fought a Saudi-led coalition for more than a decade. Fighting had eased under a ceasefire in recent years before July, when the Houthis announced a blockade on Saudi shipping after accusing Riyadh of blocking Yemeni ports.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called President Trump last week seeking U.S. military support during the Houthi advance, according to people familiar with the request. People familiar with the matter said Washington told Riyadh it would not get directly involved.

Shipping risk turns on scope

If the Houthi pledge on U.S., Israeli and commercial vessels holds, the macro effect would be to contain one channel of energy and goods-shipping risk without requiring U.S. combat support for Riyadh. For the Houthis, restraint would preserve the Oman channel; for shipowners, the mechanism is lower perceived risk on routes tied to Bab el-Mandeb.

If attacks instead extend beyond Saudi-linked vessels, the pressure would move through insurance premiums, voyage routing and naval deployments rather than only through Yemen's front lines. The Houthis would face renewed U.S. scrutiny under the terrorist designation, while carriers and commodity traders would reassess exposure to Red Sea transits.

The narrowest question is whether Washington can keep direct contact separate from Saudi Arabia's campaign while maintaining the May 2025 ceasefire. The next measurable tests are Houthi behavior near Bab el-Mandeb, any Saudi request for further U.S. help, and whether Oman continues to host the channel.