Riyadh [Saudi Arabia], September 14: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sought military assistance from President Donald Trump on Thursday to help fight Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, three sources familiar with matter said on Friday, as the Houthis stepped up their threat to the Red Sea.
Trump held at least two phone conversations with the Saudi leader on Thursday and did not agree to the U.S. striking Houthis, the sources said. Washington told Riyadh that it would help with intelligence sharing and targeting, they added.
The White House did not address a Reuters question on whether there were any phone calls between the two leaders, but a senior administration official speaking on the condition of anonymity said Washington was in continuous dialogue with Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government.
The Saudi government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the phone calls and on conversations between the two leaders.
Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, traveled to Saudi Arabia on Thursday for talks, two of the sources said.
News of the request to Trump was first reported by Axios.
The U.S. war with Iran has entered its seventh month with no immediate end in sight. The war has driven up prices of global oil and U.S. gasoline, sending Trump's approval ratings to a record low before the November midterm elections.
The Iran-backed Houthis have staged a dramatic advance down Yemen's Red Sea coast in recent days, reaching the strategic island of Perim in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Friday, four Yemeni government sources told Reuters.
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Houthi control of the Red Sea's Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz, could give Iran a critical advantage in its war with the U.S., reducing supplies through a second major transit corridor and sending oil prices surging.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation
