The US held indirect negotiations with Iran, asking them to get the Houthis to stop their attacks on maritime trade in the Red Sea area in January, US and Iranian officials told the Financial Times on Wednesday.
According to the report, the talks took place in Oman and also addressed Iran’s nuclear program. The US delegation in the talks was led by the White House’s Middle East adviser Brett McGurk and Iran envoy Abram Paley. Iran sent deputy foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani to the talks. The two sides spoke only with Omani mediators and not directly with each other.
A person familiar with the matter told the Financial Times that US officials see the indirect channel of communications as “a method for raising the full range of threats emanating from Iran,” including conveying “what they need to do in order to prevent a wider conflict, as they claim to want.”
A second round of talks was supposed to be held in February but was delayed due to attempts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
US has been working behind the scenes to pressure Iran on Houthis
While the talks were the first public discussions between Iran and the US since September, the US has been working behind the scenes to get Iran to pressure the Houthis to stop their attacks.
In January, US President Joe Biden told reporters that the US had “delivered [messages] privately” to Iran concerning the Houthi attacks, adding, “We’re confident we’re well prepared.”
Additionally, in January, the Financial Times reported that the US had asked China to pressure Iran into getting the Houthis to stop attacking ships.
According to the report, the issue was raised in several discussions with Chinese officials, but there was little evidence that China had made any effort to pressure Iran on the matter. Reuters later reported that Chinese officials had asked their Iranian counterparts to help rein in attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
Iran helping Houthis attack ships
Meanwhile, Iran has reportedly been directly helping the Houthis conduct their assaults on international maritime trade, including by providing intelligence and advising the Houthis.
Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, deputy commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), told 60 minutes in February that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is “inside Yemen and serving side by side with the Houthis, advising them and providing them with target information.”
“They’re resupplying them as we sit here right now at sea,” added Cooper. “We know this is happening. They’re advising them, and they’re providing target information. This is crystal clear.”
The IRGC is also providing intelligence to the Houthis gathered by the MV Behshad surveillance vessel, according to US reports. The ship has traveled in circles around the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in recent months. In February, NBC News reported that the vessel was targeted by a US cyberattack. Shortly after the alleged cyberattack, vessel tracking sites showed the vessel temporarily moved away from the area before returning.
