UK To Offer Saudi Arabia Aerial Refueling To Counter Houthi Attacks
The conflict between Houthis and Yemen’s Saudi-backed government has escalated, with Houthis launching missile and drone strikes on Saudi Arabia, including intercepted attack on Riyadh.
Published : September 22, 2026 at 7:29 AM IST
|Updated : September 22, 2026 at 8:46 AM IST
Aboard the British Prime Minister's Plane: Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Monday that Britain has agreed to provide limited military support to Saudi Arabia to repel attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Burnham told reporters as he flew to the United Nations General Assembly in New York that he had agreed that the Royal Air Force will provide air-to-air refuelling of Saudi planes. The agreement is for a matter of weeks, but Burnham said it will be reviewed.
The conflict between the Houthis and Yemen’s Saudi-backed government has reignited, with Houthis aiming missile and drone strikes on Saudi Arabia, including one that targeted Riyadh on Saturday before being intercepted. The Houthis also declared a blockade on Saudi shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea, attacking Saudi-linked vessels and oil facilities inside the kingdom, the world’s top oil exporter.
The Houthis advanced inside Yemen earlier this month, seizing the crucial port city of Mokha and key Red Sea islands, allowing them to better monitor shipping traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb, through which some 12% of world trade normally passes.
Burnham said he was “acting to secure the interests of Britain and the wider region, because of course Saudi Arabia has been experiencing attack, is looking at potential further disruption, and we need to keep those pathways (for oil) open.” Britain has condemned the Houthi attacks and said the U.K. will “work with partners to support regional stability, protect civilians and support humanitarian access.”
U.K. officials had previously declined to comment on “operational matters” but noted that Britain and Saudi Arabia have a close defence partnership. The U.S., which bombed the Houthis under the Biden and Trump administrations, has shown no interest in getting involved militarily this time around. U.K. officials say the agreement will start in the coming days and involve one RAF Voyager refuelling Saudi planes on “defensive” missions.
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