Washington — Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has personally pressed President Trump to take military action against the Iran-backed Houthis as Houthi forces have advanced rapidly along Yemen's Red Sea coast, two sources familiar with the matter told CBS News, adding that Mr. Trump and the crown prince have spoken multiple times in recent days about the escalating situation. Despite bin Salman's urging, Mr.
Trump has so far declined to involve the U.S. military directly, offering instead to assist with intelligence and targeting support, according to the sources, who were granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks. Bradley Cooper, the commander of U.S. Central Command, was in Saudi Arabia for coordination talks on Friday, one source said.
A CENTCOM spokesperson declined to comment on his whereabouts. The Saudi push is part of an effort to build a coalition against the Houthis and protect the kingdom against potential Iranian retaliation, one of the people familiar with the situation said, noting that the concern is that if the Houthis are attacked, Iran could retaliate against Saudi Arabia. "Iran is under intense pressure from these subgroups because people think they gave up on Hezbollah and Hamas.
If the Houthis are attacked, how will Iran respond? Do they hit Saudi Arabia? That's why they're building this coalition to protect them if Iran attacks," one of the people said.
"And if the Saudis come in, would the U.S. follow them in? That's what they're hoping." The U.S.-Saudi talks remain fluid, sources said. Axios first reported the crown prince's calls to Mr.
Trump and the Saudi push for U.S. military action. The Houthis seized the strategic port of Mokha in recent days, strengthening their position around the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait. The Yemeni government said Friday that the Houthis have also taken control of the final two islands in the strait that they did not control, giving them additional leverage over the chokepoint.
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