Houthi security officials told Emirati intelligence officers in Abu Dhabi that they would consider the offer, which also calls for coordination with the Southern Transitional Council

Information obtained by Sheba Intelligence reveals that Houthi security officials held an undisclosed meeting with Emirati intelligence officers in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, August 20.

According to a source familiar with the meeting, the Emirati side offered to bring the Houthis into a new regional framework and provide them with various forms of support in return for breaking ties with Iran and coordinating with the Southern Transitional Council over Yemen’s future governance and political and security arrangements.

The Emirati officers told the Houthi representatives that Iran was “finished,” reflecting their assessment that Tehran could no longer provide the group with its previous level of support and protection. They said Abu Dhabi was prepared to help the Houthis transition into alternative regional arrangements.

The Houthis neither accepted nor rejected the proposal during the meeting. They told the Emirati side that they would study the offer before providing a response.

The meeting was preceded by successive releases of Yemeni detainees held in the UAE. Local reports said one group arrived at Aden Airport on August 15 after being released from Al Wathba Prison. A second group was released from Al Wathba and Al Razeen prisons on August 18.

The source said the released detainees included businessmen and individuals linked to Houthi financial interests. The releases were intended as a gesture of goodwill to prepare the ground for the meeting and build confidence with the group.

Sheba Intelligence could not independently verify the nature of all the publicly identified detainees’ alleged links to Houthi financial networks.

It also remains unclear whether the meeting was connected to tensions between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, formed part of a broader regional response to the Mecca Alliance, or represented a coordinated initiative involving the Abu Dhabi, Washington and Riyadh to distance the Houthis from Iran and incorporate them into alternative regional arrangements.