Saudi Crown Prince Seeks US Military Aid Against Houthis; Trump Offers Intelligence

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked President Donald Trump for military assistance against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, two sources familiar with the matter said, as the group intensified its threat to the Red Sea.

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

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and the Saudi embassy in Washington declined to comment. Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, travelled to Saudi Arabia on Thursday for talks, one source said.

A shift in approach

The Saudi appeal marks a change in posture. Earlier, Riyadh had told Washington it could handle the Houthis on its own and stressed that the conflict should not escalate, while urging greater economic pressure on Iran.

The escalation traces back to early July, when the Houthis said their forces confronted Saudi warplanes attempting to prevent an Iranian civilian aircraft from landing at Sanaa International Airport.

Houthi control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz, could hand their backer Iran a critical advantage in its war with the US by choking a second major transit corridor and sending oil prices surging. Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, has relied on the Red Sea route since the Iran conflict effectively closed Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil once flowed.

The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, and Iran responded with strikes on Israel and Gulf states hosting US bases. US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions. Trump's war with Iran has entered its seventh month with no immediate end in sight, driving up global oil and US gasoline prices and pushing the president's approval ratings to a record low ahead of November's midterm elections.