In the wake of escalating attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis against Saudi Arabia, Riyadh has stepped up efforts to persuade Washington to provide military support, reaching out directly to President Donald Trump’s administration and to Congress and enlisting lobbying groups to help press its case.
Nevertheless, Washington has made no public commitment to new military operations against the Houthis, whom it designates as a terrorist group. That apparent reluctance contrasts with the air campaign it launched against the rebel group in March 2025, which ended with the Houthis pledging to stop targeting U.S. ships in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait.
“We are in continuous dialogue with Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Yemen Government regarding regional stability and we will always fulfill our commitments to our partners, but we have no announcements to make regarding U.S. support for new military operations,” a senior U.S. official said in a statement to MBN
The Saudis have stressed the threat the Houthis pose to Red Sea shipping, possibly further disrupting global energy markets. Saudi Arabia has rerouted its oil exports to the Red Sea port of Yanbu following Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
In September, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met in Jeddah with the commander of U.S. Central Command, Adm. Brad Cooper. The meeting occurred after reports that Saudi Arabia asked Washington to launch direct strikes against the Houthis—a request the Trump administration rejected, according to Axios.
Speaking at an energy conference in Riyadh on Oct. 12, following deadly attacks on Saudi airports and Aramco facilities, Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman said: “The events of recent weeks are serious, and our response must be equally serious.”
Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings in September that the Houthi threat was “global,” stressing its strategic impact beyond Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh has sought to broaden its political support in Congress to hammer home that point. In early October, the crown prince met with Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Appropriations Committees, as well as other members of Congress.
‘Saudi officials are likely seeking U.S. support in terms of intelligence sharing and logistical capabilities even if they assess that the White House is extremely unlikely to get drawn back into an operational confrontation with the Houthis that involves U.S. airstrikes as in 2025., said Kristian Ulrichsen, a Middle East fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston.
In September, the State Department approved a potential sale of 48 F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, at an estimated value of $24.3 billion. At the time, a State Department spokesperson told MBN that Trump viewed Saudi Arabia as “a pillar of regional security,” and that strengthening its military capabilities served U.S. and regional security.
Lobbying Firms: A Parallel Front in Washington
Alongside diplomatic and military channels, Saudi Arabia relies on political lobbying firms to meet with officials and publish media reports that portray the Houthis as a threat to U.S. national security and the global economy, not just to Yemen.
Two firms, Geopolitical Solutions and Ballard Partners, stand out in this effort. Both are working to strengthen Saudi-U.S. relations and shape political debate in Washington on Yemen and maritime security.
Geopolitical Solutions signed a contract with the internationally recognized and Saudi-backed Yemeni government for $110,000 a month, according to documents on the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) website reviewed by MBN.
Michael Petruzzello, president of the strategic communications firm Qorvis, which previously worked to advance Saudi interests in Washington, received $600,000 from the Saudi Embassy between January and April 2026, according to documents filed under FARA on June 8, 2026.
In a statement to MBN, Nick Cleveland-Stout, a research associate with the Quincy Institute’s Democratizing Foreign Policy program, said Petruzzello helped organize events on the sidelines of the recent U.N. General Assembly meetings to build international support for military action. He also met with Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks, a prominent member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Petruzzello also helped publish an article by Yemen’s foreign minister, Afrah al-Zouba, in the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, in which she called for Western support. Petruzello didn’t respond to an email requested comment.
Ballard Partners, meanwhile, works under a contract with the Saudi Embassy worth $60,000 a month, according to FARA documents. Its work includes strategic advice, media services, event planning, and advocacy for Saudi interests, according to documents reviewed by MBN.
The kingdom has one of the largest lobbying networks in Washington, according to Cleveland-Stout, who tracks Saudi lobbying activities. It has used that network in past crises to defend Saudi interests over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in Yemen, he said.
The effect of such lobbying activity is unclear. Military, electoral, and strategic calculations remain decisive in determining the level of support Washington will provide, said Edmund Fitton-Brown, a researcher at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former British ambassador to Yemen, in a statement to MBN.
“During the last seven months or so that we’ve had this conflict in the region, Saudis have not been sure what they wanted,” said Fitton-Brown, who also worked in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He said the kingdom’s leadership has wavered between trying to contain the escalation and wanting to decisively end the confrontation.
Assessing Saudi Arabia’s prospects for influencing Washington, he said the kingdom has strong personal relationships in the United States and an effective embassy, as well as connections through former officials and private-sector figures to lobbying networks.
With public U.S. support limited, Riyadh is seeking to expand its circle of partners by signing the Mecca Defense Pact with Turkey and Pakistan. On Oct. 5, the two countries pledged to deploy troops and military capabilities in Saudi Arabia under the pact’s mutual defense agreement, signed in August. The declared role of those forces, however, is limited to support; they are not slated to take a direct part in combat operations.
France has also offered to send forces to protect the oil port of Yanbu, and the United Kingdom has agreed to refuel Saudi aircraft carrying out strikes in Yemen. At the same time, Riyadh is working to repair its relationship with the United Arab Emirates and bring the positions of anti-Houthi parties closer together.
Fitton-Brown said Saudi Arabia and the United States share interests in protecting energy supplies and freedom of international navigation, and in ending what he described as Iranian and Houthi violations of the law of the sea.
But Saudi Arabia has no easy options, said April Longley Alley, a researcher at the Washington Institute. Continued escalation and air support for Yemeni forces could expose the kingdom to further missile and drone attacks.
A return to negotiations under the current balance of power, on the other hand, could lead to high Houthi demands and give the group more resources and influence inside Yemen, posing a long-term security threat to Saudi Arabia.
If the United States is unwilling to provide military support, Longley Alley said, Saudi Arabia’s options appear limited, since its other allies have their own sensitivities.
Adapted and translated from the original Arabic.
