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U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he may ask Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to intervene in support of Saudi Arabia, as Yemen’s Houthi rebels escalate attacks on the kingdom. Trump told reporters he had spoken with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and said the Iran-backed group was “behaving very badly.”
Earlier Tuesday, Erdogan had himself called the crown prince to condemn the Houthi attacks and pledge continued support. Houthi media also reported that Saudi Arabia struck an oil facility near the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. Moneycontrol reported that Trump’s comments raised questions about possible U.S. involvement as the violence grows.
Erdogan told the crown prince by phone that Türkiye condemns the Houthi attacks on Saudi territory “in the strongest terms,” according to a statement from Türkiye’s Communications Directorate. He also expressed sorrow and condolences for those who lost their lives, the directorate said.
The directorate said Erdogan told the crown prince that “Türkiye will stand by Saudi Arabia in the coming period as well,” and that he believes the kingdom will overcome what the statement called this trial. The two leaders discussed recent regional developments and the attacks on Saudi Arabia.
The call came as the Saudi-led coalition prepared a military operation in Houthi-held Sanaa, and as Türkiye’s defense pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan headed to parliament.
Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in August, under which an attack on one member is treated as an attack on all three. After a meeting of the pact’s defense committee in Riyadh on Oct. 5, the three countries said they would move to put the collective defense commitments into practice and provide the agreed forces and capabilities in the kingdom, according to Bernama. They also condemned the attempted targeting of Makkah and Madinah.
Two officials told Reuters on Oct. 7 that Türkiye is sending mainly defensive and technical support to the kingdom. A U.S. official briefed on the matter said the capabilities were broadly defensive, including strategic planning support and logistics help.
Officials said the support, which includes air defense systems, is largely bilateral for now because Türkiye’s parliament has not ratified the pact, and that it would grow after ratification.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara was assessing how it could contribute to Saudi defense while pursuing a diplomatic solution. He said Türkiye would not send troops into another country’s territory to carry out an attack.
Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said on X Tuesday that the coalition would issue an evacuation warning to civilians in Sanaa ahead of a “precision operation.” It later ordered civilians to leave the Yemen Petroleum Company’s al-Sabaha Central Station on the western outskirts of the capital “for their own safety.”
It was the first coalition evacuation order for Sanaa since the war flared again in July.
Houthi-run media then said Saudi Arabia had struck the facility. An AFP correspondent in Sanaa reported hearing an explosion, and Al Jazeera’s team on the ground also reported explosions.
The Houthis’ Al-Masirah TV carried a breaking alert saying “Saudi aggression targets the oil company in Al-Sabaha, west of Sanaa.” There was no immediate Saudi confirmation. Houthi-aligned outlets refer to the site as the Yemen Oil Company.
Al Jazeera correspondent Yousef Mawry reported two further Saudi air strike campaigns, one on oil storage tanks at the Ras Isa port and another on an oil station in Houthi-controlled Hodeidah province.
The Houthi-run health ministry said two people were killed when an oil company in Hodeidah was attacked, and it blamed Saudi Arabia. These accounts come from Houthi-affiliated sources and Al Jazeera, and the Saudi side has not commented.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree warned that any targeting of Sanaa would be met with a “tough and painful response” in Riyadh.
He said all employees and citizens near Aramco facilities should evacuate because they were “a legitimate target,” and renewed warnings to workers at Saudi oil facilities, airlines, airports and travelers. Civilians were told to leave Aramco’s headquarters in Dammam, King Khalid International Airport and an Aramco-affiliated refinery in Riyadh.
After the reported explosions, Saree said Houthi fighters were confronting Saudi-backed forces in Sanaa. Mawry said the group had not yet launched retaliatory attacks, but that people expected them.
Houthi attacks on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport killed 14 people on Saturday and Sunday, according to Saudi authorities. Al Jazeera reported that more than 300 people were injured in Saturday’s attack, which shook the world’s top crude oil exporter.
The kingdom faced new attacks Tuesday, with the coalition saying its forces intercepted three drones north of Riyadh.
Air France-KLM, Air India, Etihad, Lufthansa, Delta, Gulf Air and Qatar Airways are among the airlines that have suspended flights to Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries.
France told its citizens on Tuesday to avoid the airports in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, and a number of other countries have issued travel warnings.
Al Jazeera described the recent attacks as a spillover from the wider regional conflict between the United States and Iran.
Saudi Arabia has struck the Houthis in recent weeks and is backing a Yemeni government counteroffensive known as “Dawn of Yemen,” which followed the group’s seizure of strategic territory along the Red Sea coast last month. Saudi Arabia’s cabinet, chaired by the crown prince, said Tuesday that the Houthis would face “consequences” for their attacks, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
The Saudi-led coalition has backed Yemen’s internationally recognized government militarily since 2015 in a civil war against the Houthis. The conflict has created a deeply entrenched humanitarian crisis in one of the Arab world’s poorest countries.
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