Western officials say Viktor Bout is trying to sell weapons to the Houthis

Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout is trying to broker a deal with Houthi militants in Yemen, according to Western officials.

Negotiations between Mr. Bout and the Iran-backed group have been ongoing for some time, but no agreement has been reached and no weapons have been transferred, the officials said.

Dubbed a “merchant of death” by US officials, the Biden administration released Bout in December 2022 after serving less than half of his 25-year sentence in US federal prison in connection with his work as an arms dealer. The US exchanged him in a prisoner swap that freed WNBA star Brittney Griner from a Russian prison, where she was held for 10 months after she was arrested at a Moscow airport with 0.7 grams of cannabis oil.

Bout’s release has long been a priority for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Western intelligence agencies have no direct knowledge that the Russian leader asked Bout to return to the arms trade, but officials said Bout would not have resumed his work without tacit approval from the Kremlin. They said that if the arms deal with the Houthis had been against Russia’s interests, the Kremlin would have restrained it.

The Russians have sought to conclude several arms agreements with the Houthis, and Mr. Bout’s negotiations are not the only ones underway. Mr. Bout’s initial deal, Reported earlier in the Wall Street JournalIt was a potential agreement to transfer small arms to the Houthis. Western officials believe other Russian officials and arms dealers are involved in potential agreements to send missiles to the Houthis from Russia.

Having more advanced and accurate weapons in the hands of the Houthis would allow them to more effectively target Israel and strike ships in the Red Sea.

Western officials said no weapons or missiles had been transferred yet, but Mr. Bout was still coordinating his deal with the Houthis.

Officials believe that the Kremlin is moving slowly and sending a message to the West in its negotiations with the Houthis. Western officials said that if Britain, France or the United States agreed to direct long-range missile strikes on Russia, the Kremlin would likely complete the agreement with the Houthis as part of an escalation strategy that seeks to put pressure on the West without drawing Russia closer. To direct war with the United States.

Mr. Bout has always denied accusations of arms smuggling against him. He and the Kremlin denied reports of the agreement with the Houthis.

Dimitri S. said: Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, in a call with reporters on Monday morning, said the reports were an example of “false or informational attacks on our elected representatives.”

in Monday interview with RBCMr. Bout, a Russian economic magazine, called the Wall Street Journal article a hoax, but praised the Houthis, saying they had achieved results despite “inadequate resources.”

He added: “They have shot down, at least over the past year, more than 10 American reconnaissance drones, and therefore all commercial ships belonging to the Americans or Israelis are facing great difficulties in passing through the Red Sea.”

But Western officials believe Mr. Bout and the larger negotiations with the Houthis are part of a carefully calibrated effort to prepare for escalation of tensions if the United States and its allies provide more support to Ukraine.

Western officials said that in addition to the escalating sabotage campaign in Europe, Russia is considering launching a broad campaign to help groups such as the Houthis and others who challenge the United States and its allies if Washington lifts restrictions on the use of American-made weapons.

A recent US intelligence report said that Putin would likely retaliate more forcefully if the Biden administration allowed Ukraine to launch Western-made weapons deep into Russia.

The assessment described several possible Russian responses to the decision to allow long-range strikes using US- and European-supplied missiles, such as increased arson and sabotage targeting facilities in Europe and the possibility of attacks on US and European military bases.

Mr Bout, 57, was captured in a US-led operation in Thailand in 2008. He returned to Russia in December 2022 after a prisoner exchange. Four days after his return, he joined the far-right Liberal Democratic Party allied with the Kremlin. In July 2023, he won a seat in the Legislative Assembly of the city of Ulyanovsk, a district of 1.3 million located 450 miles east of Moscow.

In an interview with The Times last year, Mr Bott said he needed time to learn to use a smartphone, and that he had so little of his business left, so little of his private life, and not much of it left. “From any old connections.” He admitted to opening a business consulting firm, but rejected the possibility of returning to his old line of work, a business that he insisted, contrary to all evidence, was “entirely focused on logistics, as distinct from arms sales.”

He told RBC on Monday that he was working on the script for a feature film about himself.

“We are preparing our response to Hollywood, and today’s clickbait is another good plot for an episode of the series that is currently in the works,” he said.