Middle East — 2026-09-11

Saudi Crown Prince Urged Trump Twice to Strike Houthis as Group Seized Mokha and Advanced on Bab al-Mandab

BLUFTrump's back-to-back rejection of MBS's strike requests makes direct US military action against the Houthis unlikely within the next 30 days, shifting the burden of escalation squarely onto Riyadh.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called President Trump twice on Thursday urging US strikes on the Houthis, after the group captured the Red Sea city of Mokha and advanced toward the Bab al-Mandab Strait as Saudi-backed Yemeni forces retreated, according to two US officials cited by Axios 1. Trump declined both requests; officials said Washington has no current plans for direct military action against the Houthis but will share intelligence and targeting data with Saudi Arabia 1. Roughly 200 US personnel are already in the kingdom providing non-kinetic support, and CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper traveled to Saudi Arabia Thursday for coordination meetings 1. A senior Trump administration official said US priorities are freedom of navigation in the Red Sea while "empowering our regional partners to take the lead" 1. Mokha sits about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the Bab al-Mandab Strait, through which roughly 12% of global shipping trade passes 1.

Analysis
Direct US strikes on Houthi targets remain unlikely within the next 30 days: Trump rejected two consecutive MBS appeals, reflecting a standing directive to keep American forces trained on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz rather than open a second front in Yemen, and Washington is instead offering intelligence and targeting data to let Saudi forces carry the fight. This posture holds only if Riyadh's position doesn't deteriorate further toward Bab al-Mandab. Confidence is moderate, given reliance on unnamed US officials as the sole access point (Axios originating, with Jerusalem Post, Israel National News, and Times of Israel merely amplifying) and no observable shift in force posture beyond the existing 200-person advisory footprint. This marks a reversal from July, when Riyadh said it needed no direct US assistance; MBS's calls may function less as a request expected to be granted than as leverage to lock in US support without visibly relying on American airpower, leaving US assets concentrated on Hormuz while Saudi Arabia absorbs the ground and air burden in Yemen.

4 sources

Saudi crown prince urged Trump to strike Houthis amid Red Sea threat - Axios
Donald Trump declines Saudi crown prince's call for US strikes on Houthis - The Jerusalem Post
Report: Trump refused Saudi Crown Prince's request to strike Houthis - Israel National News (Arutz Sheva)
Trump said to decline Saudi crown prince's request for US strikes on Houthis - The Times of Israel