Arab News | US will honor defense commitments to Saudi Arabia, Rubio says

NEW YORK: The US will honor its defense commitments to Saudi Arabia, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday amid escalating regional tensions and Houthi attacks on the Kingdom.

“We have a very strong defense agreement with Saudi Arabia, and we will live up to our commitments in that agreement,” Rubio told reporters when asked whether President Donald Trump was prepared to take further action against the Houthis.

Rubio declined to discuss what military options were available to Trump but reiterated that Saudi Arabia was a strategic defense partner of the US.

“The US has made commitments to them. We will live up to those commitments. We are living up to those commitments now,” he said, adding that the president had “many options available to him.”

The comments come amid security concerns in the Kingdom following a series of missile and drone attacks by the Houthis in recent weeks.

Saudi Arabia and the US signed a strategic defense agreement during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Washington in November 2025, strengthening an eight-decade defense partnership between the two countries.

The White House said at the time that the agreement was intended to strengthen deterrence in the Middle East and deepen military cooperation between Washington and Riyadh. Trump also designated Saudi Arabia a major non-NATO ally during the visit.

Rubio said Washington was closely following the latest attacks on the Kingdom and described strikes on energy infrastructure in the region as “very disturbing.”

He welcomed the restart of a Saudi oil pipeline that had been temporarily shut down following attacks earlier this month, saying the infrastructure was critical not only to the Saudi economy, but also to global trade.

Rubio also accused Iran of supporting groups responsible for attacks on energy and civilian infrastructure across the region.

“The Iranian regime actively supports organizations in the Middle East who target infrastructure, energy infrastructure and civilians,” he said.

He added that Shiite militias in Iraq backed by Tehran were likely involved in recent attacks on energy infrastructure.