Bab al-Mandab, the narrow southern exit of the Red Sea into the Gulf of Aden, is the primary throughput gate for seaborne commerce and Saudi oil exports, and Houthi forces moved closer to its edge on Thursday after seizing the Yemeni coastal city of Mokha. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called President Trump twice that day; on the second call he urged direct U.S. military strikes against the Iran-backed group. Trump declined.
Oil prices surged Thursday as Mokha fell and Saudi-backed Yemeni forces retreated. With Iran already disrupting transit through the Strait of Hormuz, Houthi control of Bab al-Mandab could hand Tehran a new point of pressure over the United States and its Gulf allies, placing both major maritime exits of the region under Iranian-aligned influence.
The reversal from July
Riyadh's appeal for direct U.S. military action represents a sharp departure from its position weeks earlier. The current fighting traces back to July, when Saudi Arabia blocked an Iranian plane carrying senior Houthi officials from landing at Sanaa airport. At that stage, MBS asked Trump for political backing to strike the Sanaa airport and told Washington that Saudi Arabia needed no U.S. military assistance. Trump granted the backing. The Houthis responded by striking Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, then expanded to attacks on Saudi energy facilities. Saudi Arabia and its Yemeni partners answered with airstrikes and ground offensives. The July posture did not hold as Houthi advances deepened and Riyadh began seeking increasing levels of U.S. support.
Washington's current position
The Trump administration will not commit forces to a direct fight against the Houthis for now. A senior administration official told Axios that Washington's priority is freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, with broader conflict management left to regional partners. Operationally, the U.S. will supply Saudi Arabia with intelligence and targeting data on the Houthis. Roughly 200 U.S. military personnel are already in Saudi Arabia in a non-kinetic support role. Admiral Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S. Central Command, traveled to Saudi Arabia on Thursday for urgent coordination meetings. The Saudi embassy in Washington and the White House declined to comment.