MbS Begs Trump For Bigger Anti-Houthi Intervention, As Over 100 US Advisers On Ground

We've been documenting the Houthi rapid advance along Yemen's western coast, as the Iran-aligned rebel group closes in on owning more vital Red Sea chokepoint coastal real estate.

As of Friday, after having the day prior entered the strategic port of Mocha, it is being widely reported including in Al Jazeera that the Houthis have taken control of Yemen's entire Red Sea coastline. This gives the group, and by extension Tehran, immensely greater leverage over the Bab al-Mandab Strait and vital global energy chokepoint.

The Saudis are said to be in a panic as the front lines of the Sanaa-based government they've long backed and weaponized collapse. In some cases Saudi coalition fighters are simply abandoning their armored vehicles and convoys.

Seeking more Washington support from the air and on the ground, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) has already made two urgent phone calls to President Trump.

Axios is reporting that in the Thursday calls MbS urged his American counterpart to launch strikes against the Houthis before they solidify control of the vital Red Sea chokepoint.

The report indicates that "Trump declined, and US officials stressed the administration has no plans to intervene directly against the Houthis for now."

But also, "Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S. Central Command, traveled to Saudi Arabia on Thursday for urgent coordination meetings, two sources with knowledge of the matter said." So the Iran war is has now officially gone regional.

I'd like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the American taxpayer for their generous and apparently ongoing sponsorship of Ansar's expanding toy collection. Your contributions are greatly appreciated. pic.twitter.com/GHVGHExmaI

— روني الدنماركي (@aldnmarki) September 10, 2026

Of course, Washington and Riyadh been through all of this before but to no effect, given the brutal air war and intermittent ground campaign of the Saudi-UAE-US coalition in Yemen from 2015 to 2022. In more recent years amid the Gaza conflict, major US Navy actions in the Red Sea did nothing to push back the Houthi threat. Repeat Israeli bombings have also done little.

But the Pentagon is still intervening in what can be called a long-running proxy war in southern Arabia, as CNN reported Thursday that over 100 US military advisers are on the ground in Saudi Arabia assisting Riyadh with intelligence and targeting support.

One unnamed official even put the number at more around 200, as part of a new Yemen-focused task force amid the ongoing escalation. A huge worry remains the safety of Hormuz crude transit 'bypass' routes.

New Houthi military announcement via Telegram:

Yemen’s armed forces say maritime navigation is safe for all companies except Saudi vessels, which are subject to a blockade, and vow to continue striking Saudi troop buildups and escalating until the aggression and blockade on Yemen end.

The big news overnight was a report that Ansar Allah claimed to have hit Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline, which feeds an export terminal on the Red Sea and effectively bypasses the Hormuz chokepoint. 

Sometimes a short clip says more than pages of analysis. Here, a Houthi commander who was previously detained by government forces explains why the Bab el-Mandeb Strait matters so much strategically. He tells his soldiers that they no longer need drones or missiles. They could… pic.twitter.com/ZpxHOjfGpJ

— Basha باشا (@BashaReport) September 11, 2026

The Gulf crisis shows no signs of slowing as US forces took out several Iranian tankers this week and Tehran warns of further escalation. But Trump doesn't appear to be any closer to articulating, much less seriously contemplating, an offramp to this war of his own making - which is also becoming increasingly unpopular at home.