Reuters reported a meeting held late last week in Oman between representatives of Yemen’s Houthis and U.S. officials, bringing the possibility of direct dialogue between the United States and Hezbollah back to the forefront. The idea had gained traction for some time before being set aside as fighting escalated in south Lebanon and across the region.
The prospect of U.S.-Hezbollah dialogue appears all the more plausible because U.S. President Donald Trump himself raised the idea several times, although no talks ever materialized. The possibility has resurfaced, particularly because no one can predict what Trump might do. A last-minute compromise therefore remains possible amid the complicated context of preparations for the U.S. midterm elections.
But to what extent can the United States’ dialogue with the Houthis serve as a parallel for possible talks with Hezbollah?
It is important to recall that the United States and the Yemeni rebels had already reached an agreement during the first wave of confrontation with Iran, which pushed the Houthis to refrain from attacking U.S. ships.
Today, the Houthis’ involvement in the ongoing war carries much greater weight than it did a few months ago, given the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and the increasingly economic dimension of the confrontation between the United States and Iran. This may explain why the two sides chose to strike a deal that clearly serves their respective interests.
According to information that emerged from the Oman meeting, the Houthis reportedly agreed not to attack U.S. ships or vessels considered to operate under U.S. protection, while assuring they would only target Saudi Arabia, which they consider their sole true enemy. The United States, for its part, reportedly agreed not to provide support to Saudi forces in the war in Yemen.
If these reports prove accurate and the arrangement becomes increasingly visible on the ground, it would suggest that the Houthis are now focusing on their conflict with Saudi Arabia and no longer prioritizing fighting Israel alongside Iran.
In this context, how could anyone draw a parallel with possible contact between the United States and Hezbollah? What would Hezbollah be willing to offer to gain favor with Washington?
According to Hezbollah sources, the party currently prefers to remain discreet about the nature of any U.S. overtures. It has likewise declined to comment on the U.S.-Houthi dialogue. Instead, it points to the fact that the United States eventually entered into talks with the Taliban before withdrawing from Afghanistan. Hezbollah therefore believes that the Americans act pragmatically and will eventually abandon their allies when their interests are at stake.
For now, however, Hezbollah maintains that the United States has not made any serious attempt to establish direct dialogue with the party, even though several potential mediators, including Qatar and Turkey, regularly raise the possibility.
Maintaining ambiguity around the issue forms part of Hezbollah’s current strategy, particularly in its dealings with the Lebanese government and President Joseph Aoun, who continues to push for direct negotiations with Israel.
For Hezbollah, seven meetings have not produced enough progress to qualify as a breakthrough. Some within the party even interpret Aoun’s statements about his determination to conclude a security agreement with Israel — which could pave the way for a peace agreement — as a possible attempt to pre-empt any dialogue between Hezbollah and the United States.
Hezbollah is therefore keeping both scenarios and its intentions deliberately ambiguous. But the party sees its situation as fundamentally different from that of the Houthis. The Houthis are fighting Saudi Arabia, while Hezbollah says it is fighting Israel, which occupies part of Lebanese territory. From Hezbollah’s perspective, Riyadh is not Tel Aviv in the eyes of Washington, making the two situations fundamentally different.
The only possible parallel, in Hezbollah’s view, would be to infer from the Oman meeting that the United States has chosen dialogue as its preferred path in the region, particularly with Iran.
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