After their oil tankers in the Red Sea were hit and control over the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait lost, Saudi Arabia approached Ansarallah to ask what it would take for a negotiated settlement to be made, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Houthis response was $51 Billion USD, which they said would be needed cover the cost of over a decade of Saudi strikes and blockade. They also reportedly demanded that Saudi Arabia recognise Ansarallah as the legitimate rulers of Yemen, "for good measure".