By Diyar Guldogan
WASHINGTON (AA) - The US and Saudi Arabia discussed attacks by Yemen’s Houthi group in the Red Sea, the Pentagon said Monday.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called his Saudi counterpart Khalid Bin Salman "to exchange views on the regional security situation, including progress on US operations to degrade Houthi capabilities and uphold freedom of navigation in the Red Sea," chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.
They also discussed opportunities for expanding US-Saudi partnership on defense issues and agreed to remain in close contact, Parnell added.
Hegseth told reporters Monday on the sidelines of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House that it has been a "bad three weeks" for the Houthis and "it’s about to get worse."
Describing the military campaign against the Houthis as "devastating," he said the US is not going to relent.
"We are going to be very clear about the Iranians as well -- they should not continue to provide support to the Houthis, and that message has been made clear," he added.
The US has intensified airstrikes on Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen in recent days at an unprecedented rate, resulting in casualties and property damage, according to the group.
Last month, Trump said that he had ordered "decisive and powerful military action" against the Houthis and later threatened to "completely annihilate them."
The Houthis have targeted ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November 2023 in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has killed more than 50,700 people in a brutal onslaught.
The campaign of airstrikes started after the group threatened to resume targeting ships because of Israel's blocking aid from entering Gaza.