Houthi Official Warns Nations Against Joining Saudi Arabia in Yemen War

A senior figure in Yemen's Houthi movement has cautioned foreign governments against siding with Saudi Arabia in the country's renewed civil war, while confirming that the group has told Washington it will not strike American vessels in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthis' political bureau, said the United States had reached out through Oman to ask whether the rebels intended to target US assets in the strait after their rapid advance along Yemen's western coast earlier this month. He said the group's answer was that it is not targeting the United States, or any other country, in the waterway — with the single exception of Saudi Arabia.

US President Donald Trump said last week that his administration had held discussions with the Houthis, without giving a timeframe, and that the group did not want to fight American forces. Al-Bukhaiti confirmed only indirect contacts through Oman, the longtime mediator that brokered a 2025 ceasefire ending a weeks-long US air campaign in exchange for a halt to Houthi attacks on US vessels in the Red Sea.

Speaking from the rebel-held capital, Sanaa, al-Bukhaiti said the Houthis are prepared to fight on multiple fronts should any country join what he described as aggression against Yemen alongside Saudi Arabia. He framed the group's recent gains as a shift in the balance of power in favour of the de facto authorities in Sanaa.

He said Houthi operations against Saudi Arabia would continue until Riyadh lifts its decade-long blockade on rebel-held areas and allows vessels to reach Houthi-controlled Red Sea ports, after which the group would be willing to negotiate. He added that the aim of the military campaign is not to shut the Bab el-Mandeb but to guarantee freedom of navigation through it for all, including Yemen.

Al-Bukhaiti blamed Saudi Arabia for the latest escalation, which followed an airstrike blamed on the Saudi-led coalition that hit Sanaa international airport and prevented an Iranian flight carrying a Houthi delegation from landing. The Houthis responded with missile and drone strikes on the kingdom and declared a blockade on Saudi shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb and the Red Sea, attacking Saudi-linked vessels and oil facilities.

The rebels' advance captured the port city of Mokha and key Red Sea islands, strengthening their ability to monitor shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb, a route used by roughly 12% of world trade. Saudi-backed government forces, long split into factions, withdrew but have pledged to regroup. Riyadh and its allies have struggled for years to contain the Houthis and may now lean toward a diplomatic route, though that could require US concessions to Iran, the only power with real leverage over the group. Washington's talks with Tehran collapsed weeks ago, and the US has shown no appetite for military involvement this time.