US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that Saudi Arabia will not allow the Houthis to take control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which is its support for the government in Yemen, and he has also stressed Washington’s commitment to its security commitments to Saudi Arabia.
Referring to Saudi Arabia’s right to defend itself, Rubio described the current developments in Yemen as “a counter-attack in response to the Houthi attacks, and said that the Houthis attacked Saudi Arabia and posed a threat. We have security agreements and commitments with Saudi Arabia, and we will abide by them.”
A US official also told Al Jazeera that Saudi Arabia is using US aerial refueling capabilities to defend its airspace and support anti-Houthi forces.
According to the official, about 200 American advisors are working in Saudi Arabia’s planning centers and providing advice to Saudi forces on identifying targets.
The American official added that American forces are not part of the war in Yemen and that Washington has no specific goal in the country.
