Saudi Arabia Finds US Support Uncertain as Houthi Attacks Escalate
Crown prince's calls for US airstrikes on Yemen's Houthis went unanswered as the conflict spreads to Riyadh
By AXY Defense Desk ·
Key points
- Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly urged Trump in September to order US airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen.
- Trump has so far resisted, and after a 10 October Houthi cruise missile strike on Riyadh airport said, ‘We may. We’re going to look at it.’
- According to the column, the strike killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 300.
- Saudi investment pledges and arms deals have not secured a firm US commitment to defend the kingdom.
- Analysts expect Riyadh to weigh new security options as the Yemen conflict and the wider Iran confrontation continue.
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, spent years building a close relationship with President Donald Trump, but a column by Mohamad Bazzi published in The Guardian on 19 October argues that the kingdom is now learning the limits of that bond. Bazzi writes that as Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia escalated, Washington turned down the crown prince’s calls for help, leaving Riyadh facing a widening conflict in Yemen without the American military backing it had long expected.
The column is an opinion piece, and its conclusions are the author’s own. The factual account it relies on is straightforward: the crown prince called Trump several times in September urging him to order US airstrikes against the Houthis, who are allied with Iran. Trump has so far resisted, and when reporters asked him after a deadly missile strike whether he would be more willing to order strikes, he said, “We may. We’re going to look at it.”
How the Relationship Was Built
For years, Mohammed bin Salman cultivated Trump and his son-in-law and former senior adviser, Jared Kushner. According to Bazzi, the prince understood the president’s transactional approach to power and tailored his strategy accordingly. He signed deals to buy billions of dollars’ worth of US weapons and invested billions more in American companies.
Days after Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, the prince pledged to expand investment and trade with the United States by $600 billion over four years. He later raised that target to nearly $1 trillion. Bazzi notes that it was never clear how Saudi Arabia would channel a sum close to the kingdom’s entire annual gross domestic product (GDP), the total value of goods and services it produces in a year, into a foreign economy over a few years.
On a visit to Washington last November, the prince concluded a defense cooperation agreement with the United States and signed a deal for the kingdom to buy dozens of F-35 stealth fighter jets, which are among the most advanced warplanes in the American arsenal. These agreements were meant to bind the two countries more tightly in security as well as commerce. Bazzi argues that the prince expected that in return Washington would defend the kingdom if it were attacked, as the United States has done in the past.
The Houthi Conflict Returns
Saudi Arabia’s current exposure is rooted in a long-running confrontation in Yemen. In 2015, a Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen’s civil war against the Houthi movement, a armed group that is aligned with Iran. The fighting became one of the region’s most costly and drawn-out conflicts, and it produced a humanitarian crisis that the United Nations has repeatedly warned about. Over time, the Saudis and the Houthis reached a more uneasy state, but the rivalry never went away.
Bazzi writes that this conflict was reignited over the summer, when Trump’s war against Iran rekindled hostilities between Riyadh and the Houthis. Last month, as the Houthis intensified attacks on Saudi territory and on the kingdom’s Yemeni allies, the crown prince turned to Washington for direct military action. Bazzi describes this as a clear test of the relationship, and one that Trump has so far declined to meet with force.
The escalation has also raised the stakes for civilians. On 10 October, according to the column, the Houthis fired a cruise missile at the international airport in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. The strike killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 300. A cruise missile is a guided, low-flying weapon that can travel long distances, which makes it difficult to intercept and gives an attacker a way to strike far from front lines.
Why Trump Has Held Back
Bazzi describes Trump’s reluctance to join the fight against the Houthis as one of the better foreign policy decisions of an otherwise troubled second term. His reasoning is that American strikes could pull US forces deeper into a regional war that began with the confrontation with Iran. The column argues that this is precisely the kind of unpredictable spillover that Middle East experts and some US intelligence officials had warned about before the Iran conflict widened.
Analysts who follow Gulf security say that a decision to strike the Houthis would carry its own risks. Direct American action could expose US personnel and bases in the region to retaliation. It could also draw Washington further into a conflict that is already bound up with Iran’s wider regional network of allied groups. Holding back keeps those risks in check, but it leaves Saudi Arabia to manage the threat largely on its own, which is the core of Bazzi’s argument.
The column also points to the cost of the relationship for the Gulf states. Bazzi notes that Saudi Arabia and other Arab Gulf countries have spent tens of billions of dollars on American weapons and on building US military bases. Some of those bases, he writes, were damaged by Iranian attacks over the past seven months. Despite that spending, the countries cannot count on the Trump administration to defend them when a crisis arrives.
Money, Influence and Political Cost
Bazzi raises a further point about the financial ties between the two sides. He writes that billions of dollars in Saudi investments have been directed into the private equity firm led by Jared Kushner and into the Trump Organization, the president’s family business. Private equity is an investment model in which funds buy and manage companies with the aim of raising their value and selling them later. Bazzi argues that these links make the lack of American support more embarrassing for the crown prince, because the Saudi investments were expected to buy goodwill in Washington.
He concludes that the kingdom is being rewarded only with lukewarm US support against Yemeni rebels. The point is a political one: investment and arms purchases have not translated into a firm guarantee of protection, and the lesson for other regional leaders, in Bazzi’s framing, is that Trump’s commitments can shift with his own political calculations.
What Comes Next
The immediate question is whether Trump will change his position. He said after the Riyadh airport strike that his administration would “look at it” and “make a decision.” Whether that leads to strikes, to more limited support, or to continued restraint has not been announced. Any American move would shape the conflict in Yemen and the wider confrontation with Iran.
Analysts expect Saudi Arabia to weigh its own options carefully. Riyadh may look to strengthen its air defenses, deepen partnerships with other security providers, or seek a path to de-escalation with the Houthis. Each option carries trade-offs, and none removes the risk that further missile or drone attacks could hit major cities or infrastructure. For Gulf states that have invested heavily in an American security relationship, the key question is whether the arrangements built on weapons sales, bases and investment can deliver protection in a moment of real crisis.
For ordinary residents of Riyadh and other Saudi cities, the consequences are immediate. A missile strike on a major airport affects travel, commerce and daily life, and the dead and wounded from the 10 October attack represent a human toll that the column says must be weighed alongside the diplomatic and strategic debate. Whether the conflict widens or is contained will depend on decisions in Washington, Riyadh, Tehran and among the Houthi leadership, and at present the outcome remains uncertain.
Questions and answers
Why did Saudi Arabia want US airstrikes against the Houthis?
According to the column, the crown prince called Trump several times in September urging US airstrikes after the Houthis intensified attacks on Saudi territory and on the kingdom’s Yemeni allies. The Houthis are allied with Iran.
Did the US strike the Houthis after the Riyadh airport attack?
Not according to the reporting in this article. After the 10 October cruise missile strike on Riyadh’s airport, Trump said the administration would look at it and make a decision.
How many people were killed in the Riyadh airport strike?
The column reports that the Houthi cruise missile strike on Riyadh’s international airport on 10 October killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 300.
What did Saudi Arabia get from its ties with Trump?
Saudi Arabia pledged large investments in the United States, signed a defense cooperation agreement and agreed to buy dozens of F-35 stealth fighter jets. The column argues these deals have not secured firm US protection.
Topics: Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, Donald Trump, Houthis, Yemen, Iran, US-Saudi relations, Riyadh
Sources: The Guardian Middle East
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