Biden: Halt to U.S. support for coalition offensive operations in Yemen

Biden said Washington would continue to help Saudi Arabia defend itself.

T. Belman

Defense alone will not solve the problem.  Even a ceasefire is doubtful as it would solidify the control of the Houthis over most of Yemen which is an outcome the Saudis can’t abide. The fact that Iran is behind it and is angling for nuclear weapons further complicates it.

“DUBAI (Reuters) – The United States on Monday expressed alarm at “genuine security threats” to Saudi Arabia from Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis and elsewhere in the region after attacks on the heart of the Saudi oil industry, and it would look at improving support for Saudi defences.

Earlier in the day, the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh said Washington was committed to defending Saudi following Sunday’s volley of drones and missiles, including one aimed at a Saudi facility vital to oil exports.

“We continue to be alarmed by the frequency of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. Escalating attacks like these are not the actions of a group that is serious about peace,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

“We understand that they face genuine security threats from Yemen and others in the region…We will look for ways to improve support for Saudi Arabia’s ability to defend its territory against threats,” Psaki told a Washington news briefing.”

The Houthis (45 %) supported by Iran are trying to take over Yemen.

The BBC explained it all last June in Yemen crisis: Why is there a war?

“In 2015, Saudi Arabia and eight other mostly Sunni Arab states began an air campaign aimed at defeating the Houthis, ending Iranian influence in Yemen and restoring Mr Hadi’s government.  The coalition received logistical and intelligence support from the US, UK and France.”

Reuters continued.

The attacks, which drove Brent crude prices above $70 a barrel to their highest since January 2020, come at a time of friction in the decades-old alliance between Saudi Arabia and the United States as President Joe Biden puts pressure on Riyadh over its human rights record and the ruinous Yemen war.

“The United States stands by Saudi Arabia and its people. Our commitment to defend the kingdom and its security is firm,” the U.S. Embassy said in an Arabic-language Twitter post.

The Houthis have been battling a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen for six years in a conflict largely regarded as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

U.S. says Yemen’s Houthis have to stop attacking and start negotiating

Saudi Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki, who also speaks for the coalition, said on Al Arabiya TV that Iran was smuggling missiles and drones to the Houthis. The Houthis and Tehran have in the past rejected such charges. [D5N2JU016]

Riyadh has repeatedly said that Iran’s ballistic missile programme and support for regional proxies including in Yemen should be part of any talks aimed at reviving a 2015 nuclear pact with Iran that Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump quit.

On Sunday, the Saudi-led coalition said the Houthis were emboldened after the Biden administration revoked terrorist designations on the group imposed by Trump.

(This story corrects Jen Psaki’s job title to White House press secretary instead of U.S. State Department spokeswoman, paragraph 3)