Six months have gone by since the arrival of the US administration under President Joe Biden, which made ending the Yemen war a top priority. 

Upon his first weeks in office, Biden took critical decisions concerning Yemen in the hope of creating a better environment for diplomatic efforts. He revoked former President Donald Trump's decree, which designated the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization. Biden declared the reduction of military support to the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen. He also nominated highly regarded US diplomat Tim Lenderking as the US Envoy to Yemen.

Such resolutions unleashed a sense of cautious optimism that the with US leadership that diplomacy could help end the conflict, especially as the US has been involved in indirect talks with the parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) about US re-entry into the Iran nuclear deal, and the lifting of sanctions on Iran.

There are no signs as yet, however, that the Houthi insurgents are letting up in their military campaign, including targeting of Saudi Arabia, which has backed the US diplomatic effort.