Syria weighs military assistance to Saudi Arabia in Yemen against Houthis

Syria is considering military support for Saudi Arabia amid increased Houthi attacks on the kingdom. Discussions include potentially deploying troops as well as providing defensive expertise to combat the Houthi threat. Recent years have seen a strengthening of relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia, with new economic agreements established. However, Syria's priority remains its own recovery from a prolonged civil war.

Syria's Jolani May Send Troops To Yemen To Fight Houthis Syria is said to be "cautiously" considering sending troops to assist Saudi Arabia in the fight against the Houthis in Yemen, Reuters and others are reporting Wednesday. An anonymous US official described that this was a focus of conversation between Syria's self-declared President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the two met in Riyadh on Tuesday. Ironically it was the Saudis that heavily supported Sharaa's rise and overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in the first place. Sharaa, previously known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani was the founder and leader of Syrian al-Qaeda (Nusra Front, later Hayat Tahrir al-Sham). He had also fought Assad while initially under ISIS, and had taken control of Idlib. via SANASo while for many years foreign fighters flowed from Saudi Arabia into Syria, now the jihadi pipeline looks to go in the opposite direction. The hardline Sunnis of the new Damascus government are well-known for viewing all Shiites as 'apostates' - and so there could be plenty of willing participants to go and fight the Houthis, who are Shia and backed by Iran. Some reports speculate there are already thousands of Syrian mercenaries as well as 'volunteer' fighters on the ground in Yemen. "Options being considered include defensive aid to protect the kingdom from attacks, or deployment of forces in an offensive capacity to help Saudi-backed Yemeni troops fight the Houthis," according to sources cited in the reports. A US official has said that Riyadh has specifically requested the deployment of Syrian forces against the Houthis, perhaps as 'payback' for Saudi funding for the jihad in Syria over the prior decade. However, a Syrian diplomatic source has also indicated Damascus is placing priority on its own continued problems inside the country, also given Israel currently occupies a swathe of southern Syria, and the economy has yet to rebound after years of US sanctions (recently lifted for post-Assad Syria). Axios has noted in its reporting that Sharaa is "seriously considering it, but he hasn't decided. Further, the Trump administration "not opposed in principle to such a move," US officials cited in the same report said. Below: Ansar Allah sources have meanwhile pointed out that Jolani's militants are merely dozens of miles from Israeli positions and yet don't fire a single shot toward them: Sayed Abdel Malek Al Houthi: "The Saudis want to involve Turkey and Pakistan in the war. The Turkish context is to import the Takfiri Jolani gangs from Syria to Yemen. The Takfiri groups in Syria stand idle when Israel is 35km away but want to fight in Yemen" @sneako https://t.co/GjNgUuS1Ak — 🇵🇸 Islamic Resistance 🇿🇦 (@resistance_ZA) September 21, 2026 So it seems one additional benefit of the US-Gulf axis having a puppet in Damascus is that Syrian troops can be essentially used as fresh fodder to be thrown into regional proxy wars. It seems this is an option the Saudis are now pursuing, also as they seek greater military support from allies Islamic allies Pakistan and Turkey. Tyler Durden Wed, 10/07/2026 - 18:00

By Timour AzhariRIYADH, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Syria is carefully considering providing military assistance to key ally Saudi Arabia amid an escalating war against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, a US official and a Syrian military official briefed on the matter said.Options being considered include defensive aid to protect the kingdom from attacks, or deployment of forces in an offensive capacity to help Saudi-backed Yemeni troops fight the Houthis, the sources said.The US official said Saudi Arabia had requested that Syria deploy forces to fight the Houthis.

Syria weighs military aid for Saudi Arabia amid Yemen war, sources say Syria is carefully considering providing military assistance to key ally Saudi Arabia amid an escalating war against the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen, a US official and a Syrian military official briefed on the matter said.  Options being considered include defensive aid to protect the kingdom from attacks, or deployment of forces in an offensive capacity to help Saudi-backed Yemeni troops fight the Houthis, the sources said.  The US official said Saudi Arabia had requested that Syria deploy forces to fight the Houthis. In response to a request for comment to the Syrian foreign ministry, a Syrian diplomat said Syria stood firmly with Saudi Arabia in the face of Houthi attacks but that the government's primary focus was on domestic priorities such as recovery from the country's civil war. "Should Saudi Arabia request any military cooperation or exchange of expertise, this would take place exclusively through official channels and within the framework of the bilateral agreements governing relations between our two brotherly countries," the diplomat said in a statement.