The focus of contacts between the U.S. and Iran has widened to include the Houthi blockade of the Red Sea, a Pakistani source told The National.
“There’s another round of message exchanges taking place behind the scenes, focused exclusively on the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea,” the source said.
According to the report, the U.S. side wants to find a way whereby Hormuz and the Red Sea are no longer subject to attacks and where attacks on shipping are stopped.
The source said that Iran, in return, was seeking the concessions promised in June's interim peace deal, such as oil sales and the gradual easing of sanctions.
A peace process in Yemen has been frozen since 2023 and all but collapsed with recent escalations between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthis.
