US officials held an undisclosed meeting with representatives of Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi group in Oman over the weekend, with the militia assuring Washington that it had no plans to attack American vessels, Reuters reported, citing sources.
The meeting reportedly took place at the US Embassy in Muscat and was facilitated by Oman. The talks came days after the Houthis seized effective control of a strategic stretch of Yemen's Red Sea coastline in an offensive that pushed back Saudi-backed forces.
During the meeting, which one source said was held on Sunday, Houthi representatives told US officials they remained committed to the ceasefire reached with Washington in 2025. The militant group assured they would not target American vessels, the report added.
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One Yemeni source told Reuters that the Houthis also indicated they would not attack Israeli ships or commercial vessels, with the exception of Saudi-owned ships.
The US delegation comprised embassy personnel, according to two sources cited by the news agency. Senior Houthi officials Mohammad Abdulsalam and Abdelmalik al-Ajri were also reportedly present.
The US State Department did not confirm the meeting. However, a spokesperson said safeguarding freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and preventing the export of terrorism from the Middle East remained core US interests.
The talks follow comments by US President Donald Trump, who said on Saturday that the Houthis had contacted his administration and asked Washington to stay out of the Yemen conflict. Vice President JD Vance said on Monday that the US was in direct contact with the group.
Washington designated the Houthis a foreign terrorist organisation in March 2025. The US later negotiated with the group, reaching a ceasefire in May 2025 after a two-month bombing campaign aimed at stopping Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping.
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The Houthis last week seized effective control of Yemen's entire Red Sea coastline, including the historic port of Mocha and Perim Island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The group seized Yemen's capital, Sanaa, in 2014 and has fought a Saudi-led coalition for more than a decade. Fighting had eased under a recent ceasefire but 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.
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