A Royal Air Force Typhoon is being prepared at RAF Akrotiri, in Akrotiri, Cyprus, on Feb. 3, 2024. Cpl Samantha Drummee/MoD Crown Copyright via Getty Images
The United Kingdom pledged to provide the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with additional defensive military support as it continues to battle insurgent Houthi forces in neighboring Yemen.
On Oct. 20, the UK’s Ministry of Defense announced it will send Typhoon fighter jets to fly aerial patrols over Saudi Arabia in support of defensive efforts around Saudi cities and infrastructure.
This support comes as the Houthis—a designated terrorist organization that’s aligned with Iran and controls a substantial portion of Yemen—have launched numerous drone and missile attacks on airports and oil industry facilities in Saudi Arabia in recent months.
The Houthis have also declared a blockade and attacked commercial ships attempting to trade with Saudi Arabia.
“The continuing attacks from the Houthis on our ally Saudi Arabia are absolutely despicable,” British Defense Minister Wes Streeting said on Tuesday.
“The targeting of the airport in Riyadh in particular shows the lengths the Houthis are going to escalate the situation in the region.”
Recent Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia are part of a years-long conflict.
After the Houthis seized control of Yemen’s capital city of Sanaa in 2015, Saudi Arabia led a military intervention in support of Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
Yemen has faced persistent famine concerns since 2015, amid a protracted civil war and a Saudi blockade of the country.
The UK has already dispatched air defense systems for Saudi Arabia and provided aerial refueling support for Saudi Arabia’s air forces amid this latest flare-up in fighting.
On Tuesday, as it announced its decision to deploy fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, the UK’s Defense Ministry said military support for Riyadh will not involve preemptive attacks.
“These aircraft will operate in a defensive role and will not conduct offensive strikes against the Houthis,” the ministry said.
Egypt is also weighing sending military aid to help the kingdom’s defense. The Egyptian parliament is scheduled to hold a vote on the matter on Oct. 26.
President Donald Trump has floated the possibility of U.S. forces joining Saudi Arabia in offensive combat operations against the Houthis.
A U.S. citizen was among those killed in a Houthi missile attack on the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Oct. 10.
Last year, U.S. forces carried out a 52-day campaign of strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
Trump ended that military operation after reaching a ceasefire arrangement with the Houthis.
In a post on Truth Social on Oct. 13, Trump said the Houthis have “been silent for a long time, but now they’ve emerged again, probably at the behest of Iran.”
Trump went on to accuse the Houthis of “purposefully trying to drive up Oil Prices, probably prior to the U.S. Elections.”
The most recent rounds of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities and commercial shipping follow months of Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for global oil and gas exports.
Iranian forces began attacking shipping in the strait after U.S. and Israeli forces commenced strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.
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