Accordingly, about 100 senior Houthi officials, headed by Mohammed Abdeslam, who heads the Houthi organization's negotiating team, have left or are planning to leave the sultanates soon, most likely for Iran.

The American move is intended to increase pressure on the Houthis to accept the "roadmap," i.e. a peace agreement in Yemen, and to stop the Houthis' attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea. 

Arab sources estimate that if the Houthis do not "get the hint," a major attack is expected against them with the aim of overthrowing their rule, similar to what happened to the Assad regime.