Saudi Arabia has been lobbying the US to stop all US attacks on Yemen ahead of President Donald Trump’s visit to the kingdom, warning that it would create an “embarrassing situation” for Riyadh and the US, Middle East Eye can reveal.
Saudi Arabia has resisted the US bombing campaign in Yemen since the Biden administration began strikes in 2024, but their insistence that attacks stop picked up last week as they became more concerned about the scope of the strikes, two US officials told MEE on the condition of anonymity. “Trump appears to be meeting a Saudi ‘ask’ to stop strikes ahead of his visit,” one of the US officials told MEE.
“The pressure from the Saudis to end this has intensified since last week. They told us that attacks on Yemen while POTUS is there would be playing with fire,” the official added, using an acronym for the US President.
Trump announced on Tuesday that “effective immediately”, the US would stop bombing Yemen. The officials could not confirm whether Trump was swayed by the Saudi lobbying alone or decided to stop the campaign based on his calculations.
