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Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Washington on Monday for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio amid intensified hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi group.
The two officials are set to discuss bilateral ties as well as key regional and international developments, the Saudi state news agency SPA reported.
The latest escalation began in July, when a four-year period of relative calm between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis broke down. The conflict then shifted sharply toward Yemen's Red Sea coast in September, as Houthi forces captured Mocha and advanced toward strategic islands near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, including Mayyun Island.
The advance gave the group greater control over territory around one of the world's most important maritime chokepoints and pushed the fighting closer to areas held by the Saudi-backed government.
As mutual strikes increasingly spilled over into Saudi energy infrastructure and civilian areas, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan stepped up defense coordination under the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement.
Their foreign ministers met in New York last week and agreed to convene an urgent military-level meeting, which was held in Riyadh the following day. The three countries' military chiefs discussed intelligence sharing, military coordination and closer integration of defense capabilities, while reaffirming their commitment to the pact's collective-defense provisions.
The visit follows reports that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sought U.S. military aid against the Houthis, but Washington declined strikes and agreed to provide intelligence and targeting support instead.
Most recently, Yemen's internationally recognized government forces said Sunday that they had carried out 756 operations against Houthi targets over the previous 72 hours, claiming the strikes had killed or wounded 2,316 members of the group and killed four Iranian specialists in Taiz province.
The operations used aircraft, drones, snipers, field artillery and rocket launchers against Houthi positions, personnel and military capabilities, military spokesperson Col. Majed Abdullah al-Nuzaili said.
The reported operations covered several fronts, including Kitaf and al-Buqa and the Alab axis in northern Saada province, as well as al-Jawf, Marib, al-Bayda, Lahj and Taiz. The attacks destroyed or damaged troop carriers, vehicles, military reinforcements, missile launchers, weapons depots and other military equipment, according to Nuzaili.
Nuzaili said the four Iranians killed in Taiz specialized in operating and launching drones and missiles, calling their presence evidence of "continuing Iranian support for the Houthis."
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