The United States is significantly expanding intelligence and military support to Saudi Arabia as tensions between Riyadh and Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels approach the brink of all-out war, CNN reported on the 10th (local time).

According to multiple sources, between 100 and 200 U.S. military advisors are currently stationed in Saudi Arabia to assist Saudi forces.

Amid signs that Iran has stepped up its support for the Houthis, these advisors were reportedly deployed to work at a newly established joint military command center in Saudi Arabia over the past few weeks.

The U.S. military is known to be providing real-time battlefield updates and satellite-based targeting data to Saudi Arabia to support its operations against the Houthis.

However, CNN noted that U.S. support remains relatively limited.

For now, U.S. forces are not directly participating in attacks against the Houthis.

One source explained that the focus of this support is to help ensure Saudi military operations are conducted smoothly and professionally.

The recent U.S. backing comes as Houthi offensives have intensified.

Although a truce was reached in 2022 between the Iran-backed Houthi rebels and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces, Yemen has effectively remained divided ever since.

As the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz prolongs, both sides have broken a four-year ceasefire in the Red Sea, engaging in tit-for-tat offensives to seize control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Earlier today, the Houthis captured Mocha, a major Yemeni city along the Red Sea coast, bringing them closer to controlling the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Prior to this, earlier this month, missile and drone attacks targeting Saudi energy infrastructure left dozens of civilians dead.

Concerns have also been raised within the U.S. that this assistance is reminiscent of the targeting intelligence Washington previously provided during Saudi campaigns against the Houthis.

During the Barack Obama administration and the first Trump administration, the U.S. faced fierce backlash after assisting Saudi military operations that resulted in heavy civilian casualties.

Even after the launch of the second Trump administration, U.S. forces conducted operations against the Houthis for months before hastily agreeing to a ceasefire and withdrawing, following a recommendation by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine pointing to the absence of a clear exit strategy.

Moreover, U.S. military resources have been severely strained by the war with Iran, which has lasted for more than six months.

CNN reported that with U.S. forces currently focusing their capabilities around the Strait of Hormuz, Washington is wary of getting deeply entangled in another front.

With gasoline prices surging due to the war with Iran and threatening to become a political headache ahead of the November midterm elections, President Trump's dilemmas are expected to deepen following the Houthi advance toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

A U.S. official pointed out that hundreds of personnel from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are currently operating alongside the Houthis in Yemen, with the ultimate goal of blockading the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean.

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait has served as a vital alternative energy transit route bypassing the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.

(Photo: Yonhap News)