A barrage of drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia has intensified pressure on Washington to step up efforts to help its close ally battle Iran-backed Houthi militants in neighboring Yemen.
The US is already assisting Riyadh with intelligence, targeting and aerial refueling but has so far resisted direct involvement. The violence is now prompting the White House to reconsider how deeply to enmesh US forces, with President Donald Trump saying over the weekend that he would look into joining Saudi-backed strikes against the Houthis. “They know that probably the US president is stuck with the midterm elections coming up as well – it almost seems like they’re being strategic in how they’re playing this out. Aiding offensive strikes could also jeopardize Washington’s existing ceasefire with the Houthis, who are currently only targeting Saudi ships in the Bab el-Mandeb.
Trump is “in a difficult position here because Saudi Arabia really does need assistance,” Natasha Hall, an associate fellow at Chatham House’s Middle East program, told Bloomberg Television on Monday. The Trump administration has been wary of getting drawn into another protracted conflict in the region or seeing the Iran war widen, particularly after decrying “forever wars” of past US administrations.
The lack of American offensive attacks against the Houthis has forced the kingdom to look to other allies to join its military operations alongside Yemen’s internationally recognized government. One possibility could be that the US provides air cover and more intelligence assistance around the strait and in areas of Yemen that are at risk of falling to the Houthis.
Riyadh is now desperately looking to the US as well as security partners across the region and Europe for further support, having grown frustrated with the limited assistance from its Western allies, according to people familiar with the matter. Saudi Arabia is likely pressing Washington for more air defense interceptors, but US involvement ahead of the midterms is unlikely to extend beyond further intelligence assistance, said Karen Young, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute. “There is no support domestically for US military action in Yemen and very little for Saudi military action – the Saudis are very much on their own,” Young said. The US is now advising its citizens to avoid Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport and said its government employees require special authorization to use any airport in Saudi Arabia. US involvement may prompt the Houthis to step up attacks on Red Sea shipping, a move that would widen the economic fallout beyond Saudi Arabia, according to Ameneh Mehvar, an analyst with the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data monitoring group.
