The United States' envoy to Yemen, Tim Lenderking, accused Iran of playing a "very detrimental role" in the conflict.
In remarks to The World website, he said Tehran continues to arm, train, equip the Houthi militias.
"They continue to try to smuggle weapons into Yemen in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions. This is very, very troubling, of course," he added.
He noted that just over two years ago the Houthis attacked Saudi Arabia itself, setting its oil platforms aflame.
"So, the key factor that really plays the most detrimental influence, I think, in our view, is Iran," stressed Lenderking.
The envoy believes that the war in Yemen is "basically a civil conflict, but it's been complicated by the presence of outside actors" - a reference to Iran
"And so, one of the first principles that we approach in the United States is to get outside actors out of the conflict," he explained.
"That's a priority for this administration and certainly part of the solution that the president, the secretary of state, has asked me to push on. So, it's a matter of getting enough leverage and pressure on the warring parties to realize that their aims will be better achieved through negotiation rather than continuing to fight, which does lead to the world's worst humanitarian crisis," he stressed.
Asked if he was in contact with the Houthis, Lenderking replied that he was in touch with "all the parties in Yemen."
"There's no restraint placed on my ability to conduct the kind of engagement that I need to do with the Yemeni parties," he went on to say.
Moreover, he remarked that the Houthis are in control of the capital, Sanaa, and other parts of the country, "but they're not in control of the whole country. Nor is it clear that they would be able to or even wish to."
"So, we have to, first of all, deal with the reality that they are a strong military power (...) And for any negotiation that we would support happening, it's clear that the Houthis would enjoy that level of recognition," Lenderking said.
"The Houthis are responsive to US engagement, and I think despite the fact that they don't like everything we do, everything we say, and that's the same for us with regard to them. They do see that we have an important role to play," he added.
"They realize that the US plays an indispensable role," he stated. "There's nobody else who can play the role that we play in terms of guaranteeing any type of ceasefire or any type of political settlement that will come out of this."
The Saudi-led Arab coalition and Washington have accused the Iranian regime of supplying the Houthis with ballistic missiles and armed drones, training members and providing them with military experts.
UN inspectors have often found evidence that rockets and drones used by the Houthis in attacks against Saudi Arabia were manufactured by Iran.
Iran has denied arming the militias.
The US has previously said that the Houthis were an obstacle in resolving the conflict in Yemen.
Their terrorist attacks against the Yemeni people and Saudi Arabia have united the world against them, it added.
It also said the militias were not interested in diplomacy and peace.
Washington has vowed that it will sanction Houthi members and entities, revealing that they have carried out some 375 cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia in 2021. It renewed its support to its Saudi partners, who are being targeted by terrorist attacks carried out by the Houthis in Yemen.
