CENTCOM chief in Saudi Arabia as Yemen's Houthis seize Bab al-Mandeb

WASHINGTON — The top US commander overseeing all American military forces in the Middle East is in Saudi Arabia to coordinate a potential response to Yemen's Houthi rebels routing the country's Saudi-backed, government-aligned forces, Al-Monitor can confirm.

US Navy Adm. Brad Cooper flew to the kingdom overnight Thursday as Yemen's Riyadh-backed forces crumbled in the face of a lightning Houthi offensive southward along Yemen's western coast this week, two people familiar with the matter said. He was expected to meet with top Saudi officials as they seek to consolidate the battered military effort by forces aligned with Yemen's government.

The Houthis seized the Red Sea port city of Mocha on Thursday before capturing Dhubab and Perim Island, which lies at the mouth of the Red Sea, on Friday. The moves effectively put the Iran-armed rebels in a position to exert control over the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait, a key economic waterway through which much of Arab states' oil and gas exports have been routed since Iran began attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

In July, President Donald Trump suggested the US would get involved in the conflict if the Houthis continue their attacks on vessels heading to and from Saudi Arabia.

“If something like that happens, we take care of it,” Trump said in the Oval Office on July 21.

Trump previously authorized a US naval and air strike campaign against the Houthis in March 2025 before announcing a ceasefire after just 52 days. The bilateral ceasefire was brokered by Oman.

But Trump has thus far avoided reauthorizing direct US military intervention in Yemen since the US launched the larger war with Iran in late February. 

“The United States is focused on protecting our core national security interests — such as ensuring freedom of navigation in the Red Sea — while empowering our regional partners to take the lead in managing and resolving regional security challenges,” a senior administration official told Al-Monitor in response to a request for comment on Friday. 

“We are in continuous dialogue with Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Yemen government regarding regional stability,” the official added.

There have been at least 160 US military personnel in Saudi Arabia quietly facilitating intelligence and operational coordination under US Central Command in recent weeks, two sources familiar with the effort confirmed to Al-Monitor.

The coordination was dialed up as it became clear Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was ramping up its support for the Houthis while pushing them to further its attacks against the kingdom despite warnings from Riyadh, one of the people said.

Satellite imagery from overnight on Thursday showed multiple fires and smoke rising from points along Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline, which the kingdom has used to bypass the Hormuz bottleneck for its oil exports, suggesting possible damage.

The Houthis previously hit the pipeline in 2019, temporarily knocking the flow offline. Neither Saudi government officials nor Aramco have commented on the apparent damage. 

This developing story has been updated since initial publication.