Washington – Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

A report citing a US official stated that President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday, during which the latter requested and received the president's support for a military operation against the Houthis. According to the Brussels-based European news network Euronews, Axios, citing US officials, revealed that President Trump granted the Saudi Crown Prince his support for military action against the Iranian-backed Houthi group in Yemen.

According to US officials, the Saudi strike on Sana'a airport on Monday, followed by Houthi missile attacks, represents the most serious cross-border escalation since 2022.

The report indicated that a renewed military confrontation between the two sides would exacerbate regional tensions and potentially broaden the scope of the ongoing confrontation between the United States and Iran.

The report further explained that Saudi Arabia informed the United States last week of its concerns regarding the developments and requested US support in the event of potential strikes against the Houthis. In this context, the Saudi ambassador to Washington met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday, while Rubio spoke by phone the following day with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.

The report quoted a US official as saying that President Donald Trump spoke by phone with the Saudi Crown Prince on Friday, during which Prince Mohammed bin Salman requested and received the US president's support for military action against the Houthis.

The current confrontation began ten days ago when a Mahan Air plane landed in the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital, Sana'a, to transport a delegation of the group's leaders to Iran to participate in the funeral of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

There have been no direct flights between Iran and Sana'a for more than a decade, after Saudi Arabia had previously banned them.

Axios quoted a US official as saying that "Mahan Air is the airline of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and has been designated and sanctioned by the US government."

The Houthis said that Saudi fighter jets attempted to prevent the Iranian plane from landing but were unsuccessful, before threatening to target Saudi airports if the incident were to recur. The group added that the Iranian plane, while returning from Iran with a Houthi delegation on board on Monday, was affected by the Saudi strike that targeted Sana'a airport, forcing it to change course and land in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.

According to the report, a US official claimed that the plane was carrying weapons, missile parts, and military experts for the Houthis.

Houthi Group Bombs Abha Airport

Yesterday, the Ansar Allah group announced that it had carried out a ballistic missile and drone attack targeting Abha International Airport in southern Saudi Arabia, confirming that the operation was in retaliation for the strike on Sana'a International Airport.

The group's military spokesman, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said that the attack on Abha Airport "successfully achieved its objectives," holding Saudi Arabia fully responsible for targeting Sana'a airport and any resulting repercussions.

He also called on all airlines to avoid Saudi airspace, urging them to take the warning seriously until what he described as the "blockade" imposed on Sana'a International Airport is lifted. These events coincide with the escalation between Iran and the United States, following a wave of tit-for-tat strikes last week.

The US military announced it had carried out attacks targeting dozens of sites inside Iran using precision munitions, including air defense systems, coastal radar sites, and facilities associated with missile and drone capabilities.

In response, Iran launched volleys of missiles and drones toward US military bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Oman, and Qatar.