The United States on Wednesday, September 18, 2024, refuted claims made by a Houthi leader that Washington had offered recognition of the group in exchange for halting attacks in the Red Sea and the region.

"The United States has not made any offer to recognize the Houthi government in exchange for stopping attacks," said State Department regional spokesperson Sam Werberg, according to the newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat. Werberg added that the Houthi claim was "not true."

The US Ambassador to Yemen, Steven Fagin, also dismissed the Houthi leader's statement as "untrue."

On Monday, September 16, Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi's so-called political bureau, claimed that the US had offered recognition of the Houthi government in an attempt to stop the group's attacks.

Al-Bukhaiti's statement came hours after the group announced it had shot down a US MQ-9 drone with a surface-to-air missile in the skies of Dhamar governorate, south of Sana'a. This marked the third such incident in a week and the tenth since the Houthis entered the war in Gaza.

According to Al-Bukhaiti, both the US and the UK had threatened the Houthis with direct military intervention in Yemeni territory. He claimed that when these threats failed, the US resorted to offering incentives, including recognition of the Houthi government, in exchange for halting attacks.

Since November 2023, the Houthi group, designated a terrorist organization by several countries, has continued its attacks using missiles and drones against commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Gulf of Aden.

These attacks have led to increased maritime insurance costs and prompted many international shipping companies to opt for the much longer route around the southern tip of Africa.

To deter the Houthis and protect maritime navigation, the US formed a multinational coalition in December 2023. US forces have also carried out occasional strikes against Houthi military targets.