Abraham Accords back on track? Trump indicates Saudi Arabia may accept Israel’s help against Houthis

While Saudi Arabia continues struggling against Yemen-based Houthis, US President Donald Trump has indicated that the kingdom might accept assistance from Israel to deal with the Iran-backed militia, stressing it might help in reviving efforts to bring Riyadh into the Abraham Accords.

When asked by reporters on Friday (local time) if Saudi Arabia should accept Israel’s assistance in dealing with the Houthis, the 80-year-old Republican leader said he thinks the kingdom will do it.

“Israel has been very helpful to Saudi Arabia, and yes, they would certainly do it,” Trump said.

“Perhaps more than ever,” he said when asked how this move would help in reviving the Abraham Accords. “The Abraham Accords are one of our greatest achievements, and yes, I would say perhaps now more than ever… But Saudi Arabia is very happy to receive support from Israel and from us.”

Saudi Arabia has continued in dealing with the Houthis that have struck its cities and airports. This includes the recent strike at the Riyadh airport that killed 13 people. 

The Saudis had earlier urged the US to consider striking the Houthis, and Trump was even ready to do it, but he made a U-turn at the very last moment. Trump’s move left the Saudis alone to deal with the Houthis, even though he approved a USD 24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 fighter jets to Riyadh to help it “deter current and future threats”.

The Saudis have also blamed Iran for “encouraging” the escalation by the Houthis, but Tehran has denied the charges.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran rejects any claim that Iran has played a role in Yemeni (Houthi) operations,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement. “Yemen’s armed forces act according to their own interests and assessments, and such claims are not credible to those familiar with relations between Iran and its friends. Nevertheless, Iran does not consider an escalation of tensions to be in the interests of any party.”

The Houthi attacks have proliferated since the group launched a lightning offensive in Yemen in September, seizing strategic government-held territory along the Red Sea coast overlooking a major chokepoint for global shipping. The pressure on Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, comes as global energy markets were already rattled by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz at the outset of the wider Middle East war in February.

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