Saudi crown prince seeks US help against Houthis as group advances towards Bab el-Mandeb

ISTANBUL/DUBAI: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sought US military assistance from President Donald Trump to counter Yemen’s Houthis, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, as the group advanced along Yemen’s Red Sea coast towards the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Trump held at least two telephone conversations with the Saudi leader on Thursday, the sources said. Washington ultimately told Riyadh that it was not prepared to take direct military action against the Houthis for now, but would assist with intelligence sharing and targeting, they said.

US Central Command commander Admiral Brad Cooper travelled to Saudi Arabia on Thursday for talks, one of the sources said.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Saudi embassy in Washington also declined to comment.

Axios first reported the Saudi request, citing two US officials.

The development marks a shift in Saudi Arabia’s approach. Riyadh had previously told Washington that it could confront the Houthis on its own and had urged the United States to avoid further escalation of the conflict.

The Saudi appeal came as Houthi forces reached the strategic island of Perim in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, four Yemeni government sources told Reuters.

Two sources from the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised Yemeni government said government forces had withdrawn from Perim and that the Houthis had also captured the mainland Red Sea coastal town of Dhubab, which faces the island.

The Houthi advance raises the prospect of the group gaining greater control over one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints, potentially opening another front in the widening conflict between Iran and the United States.

Strategic Red Sea route

Bab el-Mandeb lies at the southern entrance to the Red Sea and is on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz.

Control or disruption of the waterway could give Iran and its Houthi allies leverage over another major international shipping route at a time when traffic through Hormuz has already been severely disrupted by the conflict.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter and a close US ally, has increasingly relied on the Red Sea route after the conflict effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of global oil supplies normally flow.

The threat to Bab el-Mandeb is therefore particularly significant for Riyadh, which has used its East-West oil pipeline to divert crude from its eastern fields to Red Sea export terminals and reduce its dependence on Hormuz.

Satellite imagery reviewed by Reuters showed smoke on Thursday near the route of the Saudi East-West oil pipeline, another potentially significant development for the kingdom’s efforts to maintain oil exports.

There was no confirmation from Saudi authorities that an incident had occurred in the area. The Saudi government media office and state oil giant Aramco did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The International Energy Agency said on Friday that Saudi crude supply fell by 2.3 million barrels per day in August to 6 million bpd, its lowest level in more than three decades. The decline was partly linked to the targeting of ships transiting Bab el-Mandeb by groups linked to the Houthis, the IEA said.

Global oil prices were on track to finish the week above $100 a barrel for the first time since mid-May, underscoring the growing economic impact of disruptions to major Middle Eastern energy routes.

Houthis step up threat

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said on Friday that maritime navigation remained safe for all shipping except Saudi vessels covered by an earlier Houthi ban.

“We will continue to enforce blockade for blockade and escalation for escalation until the aggression stops and the blockade on our people is lifted,” he said on Telegram, referring to Saudi attacks on Yemen.

The Houthis’ advance this week has taken them along a strategically important section of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline. Yemeni government forces said they planned to launch a counter-offensive and deploy weapons and aircraft against Houthi positions.

Military spokesman Colonel Majed al-Nazili urged civilians to avoid the road between Taiz and the coastal city of Mocha and stay away from Houthi military equipment.

The Houthis captured Mocha on Thursday along with the Red Sea islands of Hanish, according to Yemeni government sources.

Reuters reported on Thursday that the Houthi advance was aided by direct guidance from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to Yemeni government, Iranian and regional sources.

Two Iranian sources said Iran had instructed the Houthis last week to intensify attacks on Saudi Arabia and promised additional funding, weapons and senior officers to support them.

Iran describes the Houthis as an ally but denies directing their military operations and says the group is not a proxy.

Saudi approach changes

Saudi Arabia’s request for US military assistance represents a significant change from its position earlier in the conflict.

In July, when tensions involving the Houthis were already rising, Riyadh told Washington it was capable of dealing with the group itself and stressed that the conflict should not escalate further. Saudi officials instead urged Washington to increase economic pressure on Iran.

The situation has since deteriorated as the broader US-Iran conflict has entered its seventh month.

The United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, while Iran responded with strikes on Israel and Gulf states hosting US military bases. US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions, according to the supplied Reuters report.

The conflict has also disrupted shipping and energy markets across the region, with vessels facing growing risks in both the Gulf and Red Sea.

Washington weighs response

Trump has so far rejected calls for direct US strikes against the Houthis, Axios reported, while Washington has increased support for Riyadh.

A regional source said Trump was considering what steps to take and that the United States was assisting Saudi Arabia with targeting.

The administration is concerned about the rapid escalation in Yemen but is seeking to avoid direct military involvement, Axios reported.

The widening threat comes as diplomatic efforts to restore safe commercial shipping through Hormuz remain limited. Iran confirmed on Friday that representatives from Iran, Iraq and Gulf Arab states would meet in Oman on Monday to resume discussions on safe commercial shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz.

With both Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb under growing threat, disruption to the two waterways could put further pressure on global energy supplies, shipping and oil prices.