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Houthi supporters chant during an anti-Saudi demonstration in Sanaa, Yemen, on July 31 (local time). / Reuters Yonhap

As the pro-Iran Houthi rebels in Yemen seized a strategic port on the Red Sea coast and expanded their influence toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, it has been confirmed that the U.S. has dispatched military advisors to Saudi Arabia to assist its military operations.

On the 10th (local time), CNN reported, citing multiple sources, that the U.S. military recently formed a joint military command with Saudi Arabia and dispatched more than 100 military advisors from the command to provide real-time battlefield awareness targeting tools and geospatial intelligence support.

The joint military command was hastily assembled after indications surfaced that Iran was preparing to actively assist Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia. Sources explained that the overall command comprises around 200 personnel.

One source noted, "The U.S. is providing Saudi Arabia with targeting tools capable of viewing battlefield situations in real time," adding that "this is similar in nature to the Maven system utilized by the U.S. Department of Defense."

Project Maven is an AI-powered military intelligence and targeting support platform developed by the U.S. Department of Defense that automatically analyzes massive volumes of data—including drone, satellite, and surveillance footage—to identify targets and grasp battlefield conditions in real time.

However, CNN explained that, unlike in the past when the U.S. military directly supported airstrikes or aerial refueling for fighter jets, it is not taking part in direct airstrikes this time and is participating in a restricted capacity limited to intelligence sharing.

A U.S. Department of Defense official declined to elaborate, stating, "As a matter of policy, we do not comment on intelligence matters." Sources conveyed that the deployment of the military advisory group is an extension of existing U.S.-Saudi cooperation and training rather than an entirely new measure.

On the same day, as Houthi rebels seized the port city of Mocha on Yemen's western Red Sea coast and ramped up missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait area linking the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean emerged as a core flashpoint in the renewed conflict.

U.S. officials told CNN that hundreds of operatives from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are currently on the ground in Yemen operating alongside the Houthis, with their ultimate objective being to blockade the Bab el-Mandeb Strait connecting the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. Accordingly, analysts point out that Washington's expanded support for Saudi Arabia is a strategic measure designed to protect the security of international maritime trade routes beyond mere responses to local conflicts.

                                                                                                             Park Jin-sook