Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday the United States will stand by its security commitments to Saudi Arabia as fighting with Yemen’s Houthis intensifies, but offered no details on what that support would look like on the ground.
“The United States has a defense and security agreement with Saudi Arabia, and we intend to live by it,” Rubio told reporters before departing on a European trip that includes Iceland, Greece and Portugal, Anadolu reported.

No direct U.S. role in strikes so far

Washington has so far declined to take part directly in strikes, instead providing intelligence and advisory assistance to Riyadh. Rubio declined to elaborate on operational specifics.
Rubio said Saudi Arabia, facing continuous Houthi attacks, has “a right to defend themselves,” and that allied Yemeni forces are seeking to recover territory lost in earlier clashes. He described local counteroffensives around the Bab al-Mandab Strait, where Saudi and Yemeni troops oppose Houthi domination of the maritime corridor, as an expected development.

His comments came after Rashad al-Alimi, who heads Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, announced a military operation to retake the capital, Sanaa.