{
  "id": 8091115,
  "title": "U.S. and Houthis Open Talks as Saudi Oil Crisis Deepens",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/u-s-and-houthis-open-talks-as-saudi-oil-crisis-deepens",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-17T20:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "OilPrice",
    "slug": "oilprice",
    "url": "https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Middle-East/US-and-Houthis-Open-Talks-as-Saudi-Oil-Crisis-Deepens.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The United States and the Houthi group, also known as Ansar Allah, have initiated discussions as the crisis in Saudi Arabia's oil sector escalates. These talks are taking place amidst a broader set of economic and military challenges in the Middle East following the decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to engage in a war against Iran. The meeting is scheduled to occur during a visit by U.S. officials to New York, a city hosting the United Nations General Assembly.\n\nDuring the same weekend, U.S. officials engaged in talks with representatives of the Houthi group in Oman. The group, often referred to as the Houthis, agreed not to target U.S. interests and vowed to focus their attacks exclusively on Saudi forces and Saudi ships entering the Red Sea. This decision was reported by Axios' Barak Ravid. The U.S. administration decided against intervening militarily on Saudi Arabia's behalf in Yemen.\n\nOn a Wednesday, Trump informed reporters that they are nearing the end of the war, expressing optimism about a potential resolution. However, Iranian officials have reportedly expressed a lack of interest in renewed negotiations until Iran's demands are met. It is unclear what these demands entail, but they are believed to include provisions from a June memorandum of understanding. This agreement had temporarily halted the conflict and facilitated shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, but Trump's actions violated multiple MOU requirements, leading to the resumption of hostilities.\n\nVarious nations in the Persian Gulf are grappling with the fallout from the ongoing conflict with Iran. These impacts include damage to critical infrastructure, reduced export revenues, and an escalating business risk environment. U.S. military bases in the region have become targets for Iranian missiles and drones, undermining their defensive role.\n\nMoreover, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is requesting a fifth in-person meeting with Trump during his visit next week. However, no meeting has been scheduled yet. Trump is reportedly interested in meeting Netanyahu five times this year, but none of these meetings have materialized so far.\n\nOn another diplomatic front, Reuters reported that U.S. officials met with an Ansar Allah delegation in Oman over the weekend. The group assured their U.S. counterparts that they would abide by an Oman-brokered ceasefire plan from 2025 and would only target Saudi forces and Saudi ships entering the Red Sea. This meeting potentially influenced the U.S. administration's decision not to heed Saudi Arabia's calls for military intervention in Yemen.\n\nSaudi Arabia and the Houthi group have a long-standing conflict, with Ansar Allah holding control over 80% of Yemen's territory. In July, Saudi Arabia bombed an airport in Sanaa to prevent an Iranian delegation from landing there. In response, the Houthi group declared a blockade on Saudi traffic entering the Red Sea and unexpectedly captured the west coast of Yemen, including the critical Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Saudi Arabia requested U.S. intervention, but their plea was rejected.\n\nThe conflict between Saudi Arabia and Ansar Allah has intensified in recent days, with Saudi airstrikes targeting Ansar Allah and retaliations from the Yemeni group against Saudi military installations and the Yanbu oil hub. Saudi Arabia's military situation has been further weakened by a shortage of missile interceptors, leading to the kingdom's request for air-defense assets from France, Britain, Pakistan, and Egypt. The U.S. military has also faced a significant reduction in its supply of interceptors, exemplified by a recent engagement in Jordan where the U.S. expended around 60 to 80 interceptors, costing approximately half a billion dollars.\n\nThe economic crisis in Saudi Arabia is exacerbated by the diminished capacity of the East-West pipeline following an attack by an Iraqi militia. Saudi Arabia has been exploring options for an $8 billion loan from commercial lenders. However, even if the pipeline's capacity can be restored to half of its previous levels, this outcome assumes no further strikes on the infrastructure.",
  "summary": "With assorted economic and military crises boiling all across the Middle East in the wake of his disastrous decision to launch a war on Iran, President Trump will meet with Persian Gulf leaders in New York next week, on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly. This diplomacy news came on the same day we learned US officials met over the weekend with representatives of Yemen's Ansar…",
  "key_points": [
    "U.S. and Houthi officials begin talks amid Saudi oil crisis",
    "Houthi group commits to targeting only Saudi forces and ships in Red Sea",
    "Trump optimistic about war resolution, but Iran demands remain unmet"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}