US deploys troops to Saudi Arabia as conflict with Houthis escalates

More than 100 US military advisers have been deployed to Saudi Arabia to assist Saudi forces with intelligence and target identification during the campaign against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to several CNN sources.

A US official familiar with the operation said the mission involves about 200 US troops in total. Five sources familiar with the operations confirmed their presence on Saudi territory to CNN.

The US personnel are part of a joint forces command established in recent weeks. Its creation coincides with growing indications that Iran is stepping up efforts to support Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia.

The assistance comes as clashes on the Arabian Peninsula have intensified and the risk of an open war with the Houthis is growing. Such an escalation would also put another key Middle Eastern shipping corridor at risk.

According to a US official, Washington is helping Riyadh use a system that allows military officers to monitor the situation on the battlefield in real time. The platform has been compared to the Maven technology used by the Pentagon.

Another source briefed on the bilateral cooperation said Saudi Arabia is also receiving “geospatial” support from the US to select targets for strikes against the Houthis.

The sources stressed that US involvement remains clearly limited. As before, the US is sharing intelligence with Saudi Arabia but is not directly involved in military strikes.

Unlike during previous periods of fighting with the Houthis, the US is not refueling Saudi fighter jets or providing other forms of operational support.

One source explained that the US involvement is primarily intended to ensure that Saudi operations are conducted professionally and in a coordinated manner. All the sources described it as a continuation of the training and cooperation Washington has long provided to Saudi Arabia, an important US ally in the region.

A US Department of Defense representative told CNN that, as a rule, the department does not comment on intelligence matters. CNN has also contacted the Saudi Embassy in Washington for comment.

The US involvement follows recent Houthi advances in Yemen and a sharp intensification of fighting. A fragile truce between the group and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government took effect in 2022, but Yemen effectively remains divided into two parts.

On Thursday, the Houthis seized a strategic port on the Red Sea. The development could give them the ability to threaten the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the region’s most important maritime corridors. Earlier this week, they also struck Saudi Arabia with missiles and drones, killing dozens of civilians.

The current support recalls the controversial assistance the US military provided to Riyadh with target identification during the Obama administration and Trump’s first term. Critics argued at the time that the assistance had contributed to the high number of civilian casualties.

During Trump’s second term, the US conducted a months-long military campaign against the Houthis in Yemen, which ended with an unexpected ceasefire agreement. CNN previously reported that Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, called for the operation to end shortly after he was confirmed as Trump’s top military adviser. The reason was concern that the US did not have a clear strategy for withdrawing from the conflict.

As the US war with Iran continues and could spread through allied groups into other regional conflicts, US officials are closely monitoring Houthi activity.

Saudi Arabia initially showed reluctance to become directly involved in the US war against Iran. Earlier this summer, Riyadh even declined to support initial US efforts to escort commercial vessels affected by the conflict.

However, the Houthis’ increasingly aggressive attacks have heightened fears in both Washington and Riyadh that a second front could open in the war.

US officials say hundreds of members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard are currently in Yemen and are working with the Houthis to close the Bab el-Mandeb. The strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, is one of the most strategic chokepoints in global trade.

CNN previously reported that, should talks with the US fail, Iran was considering a “nuclear economic option”: using the Houthis to block this vital maritime route.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also spoke this week about the presence of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in Yemen. He said Tehran had played a role in the Houthis’ recent attacks on Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure.

Meanwhile, US forces are already under heavy strain after more than six months of fighting with Iran. US troops in the region have faced repeated missile and drone attacks, extended deployments and concerns over ammunition supplies.

The US military’s primary focus currently remains on operations near the Strait of Hormuz. In that area, the US is striking Iranian targets, escorting commercial vessels and enforcing a naval blockade against Iranian ports.

There is also considerable concern within the US military about becoming too directly involved in the Saudi campaign against the Houthis, especially if a strike fails and causes civilian casualties, as has happened before. “This is no longer the reality it once was,” a CNN source said.