DOMINANT ANGLE
Lisbon sees through Washington's double speak: the Houthis promise to spare American and Israeli ships during a secret meeting in Muscat, while only Saudi oil tankers remain targeted by the blockade in the Red Sea.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
63 deaths in 24 hours in clashes between Yemeni government forces and Houthi fighters, including 23 soldiers and 40 Houthi fighters, according to military sources cited by AFP.
- 02
A first death recorded on Saudi soil since July: a Yemeni killed in Taif by debris from an intercepted drone, according to the Saudi Civil Defense.
- 03
US representatives secretly met with Houthi leaders in Muscat this weekend; they promise to spare American and Israeli ships, according to five sources cited by Reuters.
ANALYSIS
Lisbon, Saturday, September 19, 2026. Portugal notes a double American language in the Houthi dossier, between a displayed withdrawal and discreet negotiations in Muscat, as the Yemeni conflict worsens on the ground.
According to military sources cited by AFP, clashes between Yemeni government forces and Houthists have killed 63 people in twenty-four hours: at least 23 soldiers in missile and drone attacks in Taiz and Lahj, and 40 Houthi fighters in Saudi strikes and ground battles. Bombings also targeted telecommunications towers in Taiz, killing four people, including three children, according to the Houthists.
The movement, which now controls the entire Yemeni coast on the Red Sea, is strengthening its grip on the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, connecting Europe to Asia via the Suez Canal, an advance that fuels international fears for global maritime transport.
In Saudi Arabia, one person died after debris fell during the interception of a drone in the Taif province, a first fatal toll on Saudi soil since the resumption of hostilities in July. The Saudi Civil Defense specified that the victim, a Yemeni, also injured a Saudi and a Pakistani, the latter in critical condition.
But Lisbon is particularly aware of Washington's ambiguity. According to five sources cited by Reuters, American representatives secretly met with Houthists this weekend at the US embassy in Muscat, a meeting co-organized by the Omani government. The Houthists allegedly promised not to attack American or Israeli ships, limiting their targets to Saudi vessels, and not to target commercial ships. The State Department did not confirm the meeting, only citing the need to "ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea" and "prevent the export of terrorism from the Middle East".
Classified as a "foreign terrorist organization" by Washington in 2025, the Houthists remain a de facto interlocutor for the Americans, who had already negotiated the ceasefire in May on ships in the Red Sea. On Saturday, Donald Trump stated that the Houthists had asked Washington not to intervene in Yemen after the takeover of the islands marking the strait. On Monday, Vice President JD Vance confided that the United States was in direct contact with the Houthists and other regional actors, including the Saudis.
