Saudi Arabia Turns to Washington for Support as Houthi Pressure on Red Sea Intensifies

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked U.S. President Donald Trump this week for American military assistance in countering Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement, according to two sources familiar with the discussions, as the group escalates its activity in the Red Sea region.

Trump and the Saudi leader held at least two phone calls on Thursday. Following those conversations, Washington indicated to Riyadh that it was not prepared to take direct military action at this stage, but would provide support through intelligence sharing and targeting assistance, the sources said.

The White House did not directly address questions about the calls, but a senior administration official, speaking anonymously, said the United States remains in continuous dialogue with both Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government.

“The United States is focused on protecting our core national security interests — such as ensuring freedom of navigation in the Red Sea — while empowering our regional partners to take the lead in managing and resolving regional security challenges,” the official said.

Saudi government media officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Separately, Adm. Brad Cooper, who leads U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), the command responsible for U.S. military operations in the Middle East, traveled to Saudi Arabia on Thursday for talks, according to the sources. Axios first reported the appeal to Trump.

A Shift in Riyadh’s Posture

The request marks a notable change in Saudi Arabia’s stance. Earlier in the escalation, which began in early July after the Houthis said they confronted Saudi aircraft near Sanaa International Airport, Riyadh had told Washington it could handle the Houthis independently and urged against widening the conflict, instead calling for tighter economic pressure on Iran.

The stakes are high for global energy markets. The conflict between the United States and Iran, now in its seventh month, has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz — a corridor that historically carried roughly a fifth of the world’s oil — pushing up oil and gasoline prices. Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter, has increasingly relied on Red Sea shipping routes as an alternative. Houthi control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea threatens that second corridor, potentially tightening supplies further.

The broader conflict has also drawn in U.S. allies and regional states, with strikes and counterstrikes since late February affecting territories across the region.

For defence suppliers, prolonged multi-theatre operations continue to sustain demand for munitions, precision components, and related hardware. National Presto Industries (NPK), an Industrials-sector company with an aerospace and defence segment alongside its housewares business, is among smaller suppliers whose defence operations track these spending patterns; its shares closed at $144.01 on the day, down 1.72% from the previous close of $146.52, giving the company a market capitalisation of roughly $1.06 billion.

Source: original release

What to watch

• Any White House or Saudi government confirmation of the phone calls and the scope of intelligence-sharing support.
• Outcomes of Adm. Cooper’s discussions in Riyadh and follow-on U.S.–Saudi military consultations.
• Status of shipping traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Red Sea corridors, given the impact on oil prices.
• Developments in the U.S.–Iran conflict and any diplomatic moves before the November midterm elections.