Yemen leader sought Trump help against Houthis, source says

The head of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council asked US President Donald Trump for American support against the Iran-backed Houthis during a Sunday call, a source in Rashad al-Alimi's office told AFP.

The office source said Trump did not promise military support. The source said the call was intended as a show of solidarity with Yemen's embattled government after the Houthis seized the country's entire Red Sea coast in a rapid offensive.

Alimi heads the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council, whose forces are fighting the Houthis with air support from Saudi Arabia.

His request followed a Houthi attack on Riyadh on Saturday, their first to target the Saudi capital in years and a major escalation. US media reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has also urged Trump to strike the Houthis. The New York Times said the crown prince called Trump on Sunday to press again for help against the group's advances, and Axios previously said Trump rejected a similar request last week.

Fox News reported Sunday that Trump said the Houthis had agreed not to hit US targets.

The Houthis now control strategic coastal areas overlooking the Bab al-Mandeb strait after seizing them from Saudi-backed government forces. Those gains give Iran and its allies a stronger position over two waterways used by the wider Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, to ship oil.

A fragile 2022 truce between the Houthis and Yemen's government fell apart in July after the group allowed an Iranian plane to land in Sanaa in defiance of Riyadh's control over Yemeni airspace. The Houthis later announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and began hitting its ships and territory.