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. "We are narrowly focused on trying to end the war in Yemen," Assistant Secretary of Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker told reporters during a visit to Al-Kharj air base near the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019