“MBS will not forget this”
Trump lets important ally appear
09/22/2026 – 7:38 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Saudi Arabia is again increasingly attacking the Houthi militia in Yemen from the air. Riyadh cannot count on support from its most important ally.
Despite requests from Saudi Arabia, US President Donald Trump initially from new US air strikes Yemen on the Houthi militia. This was reported by the New York Times and the Financial Times, citing US government officials. The Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Trump, who also agreed to the new attacks, wrote the New York Times. But then he changed his mind and, according to US representatives, there would be no attacks for the time being, both newspapers reported.
The USA are an important ally of Saudi Arabia, have troops stationed at an air base in the desert state and are also by far the most important arms supplier. The kingdom is also coming under fire again in the escalated war in neighboring Yemen and is coming under further pressure over attacks on its oil infrastructure. Riyadh is therefore seeking military assistance. The British government agreed to provide “defensive” air refueling support to Saudi fighter jets.
“We have a defense agreement with Saudi Arabia. “We intend to fulfill our obligations,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News. However, the war in Yemen is an existing “very dangerous and complex conflict.” There have been no US attacks so far, said Rubio, referring to new air strikes since the latest escalation.
Houthi militia on the rise
“MBS will not forget this,” the Financial Times quoted Karen Gibson, the former intelligence chief at US Central Command, which is responsible for military operations in the Gulf region, as saying. By MBS she was referring to the Saudi crown prince, who is known by that acronym. Trump’s rejection shows that the USA would not necessarily fight if Saudi Arabia sees its most important interests in danger.
Trump has previously threatened several times to attack the Houthi militia following its blockade against Saudi ships in the Red Sea declared in July. The Houthis then took further parts of Yemen’s west coast in a lightning offensive and thus gained even better access to the important Bab al-Mandab strait at the entrance to the Red Sea. In normal times, around ten percent of global maritime trade passes through these.
Previous US attacks only stopped after Oman intervened
The Houthis have already had a massive impact on world trade with attacks on ships in this region since 2023. The U.S. military repeatedly bombed targets in Yemen in 2024 and 2025 in a stated attempt to stop militia attacks on shipping. The confrontation only ended after mediation between Yemen and Saudi Arabia’s neighboring country Oman. The USA and the EU also launched military operations to protect merchant ships.
