CENTCOM chief meets Saudi Arabia's MBS amid Houthi gains in Yemen

WASHINGTON — The top commander of US military forces in the Middle East met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday after Yemen’s Houthi rebels seized the high ground overlooking the Bab al-Mandeb Strait at the mouth of the Red Sea.

US Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, who heads US Central Command, met the de facto Saudi ruler in Jeddah to discuss “bilateral relations and the latest regional developments,” the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday.

Why it matters: Cooper’s low-profile meeting with the Saudi crown prince comes as the Trump administration has demurred on direct military involvement in the latest flare-up in Yemen’s conflict as Washington focuses its military pressure on Iran.

Instead, CENTCOM is offering assistance in targeting and intelligence on Houthi activities in Yemen as well as advising on the kingdom’s air defense strategy as it continues to face aerial attacks on multiple fronts.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry confirmed last week’s drone attack that knocked out the kingdom’s vital East-West Pipeline, which bypasses the contested Strait of Hormuz, came from Iraq. It was the latest in a running series of drone attacks fired across the Gulf into the kingdom by Iran-armed militias that Baghdad has struggled to control.

Last week, Yemen’s Houthi rebels swept southward from Hodeida to seize the port of Mokha and key positions further south along the Bab al-Mandeb coast as elements of the Saudi-backed, Yemeni government-aligned forces fled their posts. The Houthis were quick to affirm that they have no intention of attacking international shipping, apparently alleviating concerns in Washington. 

“The Houthis called us, and they let us know that they don’t want to fight with us,” President Donald Trump said Saturday during a state visit to Ireland. He said the Houthis’ attacks are only focused on “one country,” in reference to Saudi Arabia.

“I can say everything’s going to work out fine and dandy. It’s going to be great,” Trump added.

Know more: Pakistan and Turkey, which joined Saudi Arabia in signing a trilateral defense pact on Aug. 7, have also balked at sending forces into the conflict.

“There is no such thing under discussion right ​now,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson told reporters late last week about potentially invoking the agreement’s mutual defense clause.