Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has appealed to regional governments and indirectly to “Israel” for assistance as Saudi-backed forces suffer major battlefield setbacks, Israel Hayom reports, citing diplomatic officials in the region.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has appealed to governments across the region, and indirectly to “Israel,” for assistance in the kingdom’s escalating aggression against Yemen and the Ansar Allah movement, as Saudi-backed forces suffer major battlefield setbacks, Israel Hayom reported, citing diplomatic officials in the region.
According to the report, the requests were made directly to other Gulf states and to Egypt, while “Israel” was approached indirectly through US Central Command, with a request for intelligence and other assistance to help prevent Ansar Allah from taking control of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. In his appeals, bin Salman reportedly warned that a closure of the strait could inflict severe damage on the region and the global economy, potentially exceeding the impact of the Strait of Hormuz’s disruption, since it would cut off the Red Sea route Saudi Arabia has relied on to export oil from Yanbu since the Hormuz closure.
An Unprecedented Approach
Even indirect, the outreach marks a striking departure for a kingdom that has for years conditioned any normalization with “Israel” on the establishment of a Palestinian state and an end to “Israel’s” occupation, a position Riyadh has publicly reaffirmed throughout the war on Gaza.
Israel Hayom’s report suggested the renewed escalation could present Riyadh with an opening to move closer to “Israel” and give bin Salman leverage against domestic opponents of rapprochement with “Israel.”
Washington’s Reluctance and a Fracturing Coalition
Bin Salman has separately pressed US President Donald Trump directly for military action against Ansar Allah, according to CBS News and other outlets, with the two speaking multiple times in recent days. Trump has so far declined direct US intervention, offering intelligence and targeting support instead, while CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper traveled to Saudi Arabia to coordinate assistance.
Washington is separately weighing airstrikes on positions overlooking Bab al-Mandeb, contingent on radars or missile launchers being deployed at captured sites.
Pakistan and Türkiye, which signed a defense pact with Saudi Arabia roughly a month earlier, have limited their involvement to mediation efforts rather than joining the confrontation, while Egypt has backed Riyadh’s position out of concern that a closure of Bab al-Mandeb could also threaten Suez Canal traffic and Egyptian revenue.
Ansar Allah’s Rapid Advance
Ansar Allah and allied forces have taken control of the port city of Mocha, the island of Zuqar, and Perim Island in recent days, with Saudi-backed government forces retreating in what officials described as a broad collapse involving entire brigades.
The group has also struck oil infrastructure and air bases in southern Saudi Arabia, including around Khamis Mushait, Abha, and Jazan.
Source: Israeli media (edited by Al-Manar)