Vice President J.D. Vance said Monday that the U.S. has been in contact with the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen as the rebel group consolidates its control over the country’s western coastline and deepens its influence over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Mr. Vance said the U.S. has held conversations with Houthi representatives and key security and political officials from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
“We’ve been in constant contact with the Emiratis, the Saudis and others who are affected in the region,” Mr. Vance said. “We’ve also been engaged in direct conversations with the Houthis themselves, so we actually feel like we are on top of the situation. It’s a very fluid and dynamic thing, but we’re going to keep on monitoring it and making sure that Americans’ best interests are represented.”
Mr. Vance made the comments after days of escalated fighting between Saudi-backed government forces and Houthi rebels in Yemen that threatened commercial shipping in the Red Sea and led to a massive spike in oil prices.
On Monday, Houthi forces captured the Greater and Lesser Hanish islands, two small islands located in the southern Red Sea, north of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The islands were previously controlled by UAE-backed southern forces, including allies of the Southern Transitional Council, before Abu Dhabi withdrew and dismantled its military infrastructure there earlier this year.
The acquisition follows a series of consequential military victories for the Houthis last week after intense clashes with Yemeni government troops.
Rebel forces stormed across much of Yemen’s western coast, forcing the Saudi-backed forces to retreat from the port city of Mokha and cede control of Mayun Island, also known as Perim Island, at the strait’s narrowest point.
The renewed fighting, which has simmered since the U.S.-Iran conflict began in September 2014, when Houthi forces seized the capital, Sanaa. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in March 2015, opening a full-scale war that raged until an April 2022 U.N. truce mostly paused the fighting.
The victories this month are likely to help the Houthis in their efforts to disrupt shipping in the waterway and inflict further pain on Saudi Arabia, the group’s principal regional adversary.
The Houthis in July announced a blockade against any Saudi-linked oil tankers attempting to traverse the strait. Since then, rebel forces have attacked several vessels in regional waters, according to U.S. and maritime officials, and have recently launched strikes on domestic Saudi energy infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s largest oil exporters, has been under intense military and economic pressure since the Iran war began and Tehran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz in March. Since then, Riyadh has increasingly relied on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to export its oil.
Rebels targeted King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia, on Monday, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said, adding that the strikes hit aircraft hangars, radar installations, runways and ammunition depots at the base. Accounts on the ground reported loud explosions and large fires near the base, though Saudi officials have not confirmed the extent of any damage from the strikes.
Saudi authorities issued brief civil defense alerts in the Khamis Mushait and Abha areas ahead of the attacks.
Last week, the Houthis fired dozens of ballistic missiles and drones at targets across southern Saudi Arabia, including King Khalid Air Base, Aramco facilities in Najran and Abha, and Jazan City’s downstream industrial hub. Saudi officials said the attacks wounded at least 73 people.
Just days later, several drones launched from Iraqi territory struck Saudi Arabia’s East-West Crude Oil Pipeline, or Petroline, causing fires and damage to pump stations. The Saudi Foreign Ministry said the pipeline had been shut down as a result, and officials were assessing damage. Saudi and Iraqi officials have said the attack originated in Iraq’s Maysan province, which borders Iran and is home to several Iran-aligned Shiite militias.
The attacks on Saudi territory may have prompted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to meet with Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, on Monday.
According to Saudi state-affiliated media, the meeting was held in Jeddah and covered regional developments. Saudi and U.S. officials have not disclosed further specifics on what was discussed.
The prince reportedly spoke with President Trump last week about the escalated fighting and urged him to authorize U.S. military strikes against the Houthis. Mr. Trump apparently did not agree to direct U.S. military action.
The escalation in fighting has caused international energy prices to rise dramatically over the past week. Brent crude, the international benchmark for crude oil, rose to just over $109 a barrel on Monday morning before retreating to $106.
That is a sharp increase from $97 a barrel at the same time last week.
The national average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline in the U.S. was $4.31 on Monday, up 16 cents from a week ago, according to AAA.
Meanwhile, Washington’s diplomatic efforts to end the war in Iran have stagnated, and open fighting between U.S. and Iranian forces in the region has only intensified in recent weeks.
On Monday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the Panama-flagged oil tanker El Gaia struck a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz, sustaining severe damage. IRGC Naval Command said the ship had been warned about traversing the strait illegally.
U.S. Central Command rejected the IRGC’s assertion in a post on X just hours later, saying that Iranian forces had hit the vessel with a ballistic missile last month and again over the weekend as it waited in Omani waters. “The tanker is currently being towed by a regional partner. The IRGC’s false claim is yet another example of their lies and intimidation attempts while they try to impede commercial vessels in the strait,” CENTCOM said.
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