The Trump administration is ending the practice of refueling Saudi coalition aircraft, halting the most tangible and controversial aspect of U.S. support for the kingdom’s three-year war in Yemen, people familiar with the situation said.
The move comes amid escalating criticism of Saudi Arabia’s conduct in the war. Lawmakers from both parties have demanded that the United States suspend weapons sales to Riyadh and cut off aerial refueling of aircraft flown by the Saudi coalition, which monitoring groups have accused of killing thousands of unarmed civilians.
While the individuals familiar with the discussions said a decision is expected to be made public in coming days, Col. Robert Manning III, a Pentagon spokesman, said: “We have ongoing discussions with our partners, but have nothing to announce at this time.”
Analysts said the move would limit Saudi Arabia’s ability to conduct bombing missions.
“This marks the first time that the United States has taken a concrete measure to rein in the Saudi war effort,” said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer and scholar at the Brookings Institution. “Two administrations have basically given the Saudis a blank check to do whatever they wanted. Now it will be harder for the Saudis to carry out airstrikes deep into Yemeni territory, going after the capital for instance.”
It wasn’t immediately clear whether the move was initiated by Washington or Riyadh, both of which are anticipating a tougher congressional stance on the war. Several of the individuals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a decision that had not been made public, said the move was prompted at least in part by the Saudi military’s increased aerial refueling capability.
The U.S.-Saudi relationship has come under closer scrutiny since Saudi Arabia’s acknowledgment that a prominent Saudi journalist was killed by Saudi agents last month. Democrats, bolstered by a string of midterm victories in the House, have also called for greater oversight of the war.
While military officials have continued to publicly defend the Saudi-led coalition’s efforts to avert civilian casualties, privately they have expressed a feeling of being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Military leaders, many of whom have years of experience working closely with Gulf allies, see Saudi Arabia as a key partner in the counterterrorism fight that has dominated Pentagon operations since 2001. They also share Riyadh’s concern about Iran’s reach through proxy forces and want to show support for the kingdom as it grapples with repeated missile and other attacks from the Houthi rebels.