Washington is in talks with Yemen's Iran-aligned Huthi rebels in a bid to end the country's war, a top US official said on Thursday, the first such contact in more than four years.
The negotiations open a direct channel between President Donald Trump's administration and the Huthis amid the threat of a broader regional conflict with Iran.
It also comes as the rebels have stepped up
missile and drone attacks on neighbouring
Saudi Arabia, a key US ally which heads a military coalition against the Huthis.