Saudi Arabia’s war against the Houthis is intensifying — and now a country that endured more than a decade of civil war is considering providing it with assistance. A U.S. official and a military official briefed on the matter told Reuters that Syria is “carefully considering” providing military assistance to its ally Saudi Arabia.
According to the officials, the options under consideration include defensive assistance intended to protect the kingdom from attacks or the deployment of forces to help Saudi-backed Yemeni forces fight the Houthis. The U.S. official said Saudi Arabia had asked Syria to deploy forces to fight the Houthis.
Launchers destroyed in Sanaa
Syria is not the only country Saudi Arabia has approached for assistance. After weeks of Houthi missile and drone attacks, it has sought help from numerous countries, from the United States to countries in Europe and the Middle East, for both defensive and offensive support.
A Syrian diplomat said in response that Syria stands with Saudi Arabia in the face of Houthi attacks, but that the government’s main focus is on domestic priorities, such as reconstruction following the civil war.
“Should Saudi Arabia request any military cooperation or exchange of expertise, this would take place exclusively through official channels and within the framework of the bilateral agreements governing relations between our two brotherly countries,” the diplomat said.
On Tuesday, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited Riyadh and met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. According to the U.S. official, their discussions included possible Syrian military assistance to the kingdom.
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Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited Riyadh and met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
(Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images, AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Footage broadcast by Syrian state media showed Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, the crown prince’s brother, accompanying al-Sharaa back to his plane. Khalid bin Salman is considered the Saudi official responsible for the “Yemen file.”
It remains unclear, however, whether the Syrians will ultimately agree to provide military assistance. Involvement in fighting against the Iran-backed Houthis could be viewed as a hostile act by Iran and its allies — Hezbollah in Lebanon and militias in Iraq — all of which have a history of conflict with the Syrian rebels who are now the country’s rulers.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia continues to suffer casualties, including on the home front. On Wednesday, it acknowledged in an official statement that three people had been killed in Houthi missile attacks on its airports over the past two days.
The Saudi-led coalition, meanwhile, said it had “destroyed a ballistic missile launch platform in Sanaa that was used to attack Riyadh” and released footage of the strike. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed that Saudi Arabia had carried out 156 airstrikes and missile launches over the previous 24 hours. According to the Houthis, Saudi Arabia has carried out 1,798 airstrikes and missile attacks since the current war began.
On Tuesday, the Houthi spokesman denied claims by Yemen’s internationally recognized, Saudi-backed government that its forces had succeeded in pushing back the Houthis and capturing territory overlooking the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait in the country’s southwest.
Government forces, backed by extensive air support from Saudi fighter jets, had earlier announced dramatic advances in the area, which the Houthis captured only a month ago. However, the actual extent of the advances remains unclear, and the Houthis deny they took place.
Yemen’s government announced on Sunday the launch of a large-scale ground operation, code-named “Dawn of Yemen,” aimed at recapturing territory that pro-Saudi forces lost during the Houthis’ rapid offensive in early September. During that campaign, the Houthis seized several strategic locations in southwestern Yemen, particularly the towns of al-Mokha and Dhubab, which lie very close to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, as well as islands located within the strait itself.
Those gains gave the Houthis tight control over traffic through the strategic waterway, which connects Europe and Asia via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal and carries 12% of global trade.
The strait’s importance, particularly for Saudi Arabia, has increased dramatically following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula amid the war with Iran. The Houthi takeover of Bab al-Mandab sent oil prices surging amid fears of further disruption to the flow of oil to global markets.