Saudi Crown Prince asked Trump for military assistance against the Houthis but was refused – Reuters
Kyiv • UNN
Riyadh asked the United States to intensify military pressure on the Houthis. Washington refused, offering intelligence and assistance in identifying targets.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump for military assistance in the fight against the Yemeni Houthis. Trump did not agree to U.S. strikes; however, Washington offered Riyadh intelligence support, Reuters reports, citing 3 sources, writes UNN.
Details
According to the agency's sources, on Thursday Trump spoke by phone with the Saudi crown prince at least twice. Riyadh wanted to find out whether the United States was ready to increase military pressure on the Houthis so that Saudi Arabia would not be left to face them alone.
Instead, the U.S. side offered assistance with intelligence sharing and target identification. A former senior U.S. official familiar with the situation said that Washington's response had so far been negative, but that the situation could still change.
The Houthis have increased the threat to the Red Sea
In recent days, the Iran-backed Houthis have advanced along the Red Sea coast and reached the strategic island of Perim in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Control over this strait could create serious risks for global energy supplies. Saudi Arabia is becoming increasingly dependent on the route through the Red Sea after the Strait of Hormuz, through which around one-fifth of the world's oil exports previously passed, effectively ceased to function normally because of the conflict with Iran.
As recently as July, Saudi Arabia told Washington that it was capable of confronting the Houthis on its own and was not interested in further escalation. Now Riyadh's position, according to Reuters, has changed amid the group's strengthening and the threat to key maritime routes.