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Syria is considering whether to provide military assistance to its ally Saudi Arabia as the war against Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen expands, a U.S. official familiar with the matter and a Syrian military official said.
The options under discussion include defensive support to protect the kingdom from attacks, as well as deploying troops to assist Saudi-backed Yemeni forces fighting the Houthis.
The U.S. official said Saudi Arabia had asked Syria to send forces to help counter the Houthis. Ahmed Zaidan, media adviser to the Syrian president, denied the claim.
In response to a request for comment sent to Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a Syrian diplomat said the country firmly supported Saudi Arabia in the face of Houthi attacks. However, the diplomat stressed that the government’s main focus was on domestic priorities, including post-civil war reconstruction.
“If Saudi Arabia requests military cooperation or an exchange of expertise, this will be carried out only through official channels and within the framework of bilateral agreements governing relations between the two brotherly countries,” the diplomat said in a statement.
The Saudi government’s media office and Yemen’s information minister did not respond to requests for comment.
After weeks of Houthi missile and drone attacks on the kingdom, Saudi Arabia has been seeking defensive and offensive support from the United States, European countries and nations in the Middle East.
According to the U.S. official, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a visit to Riyadh on Tuesday. Possible military assistance to Saudi Arabia was among the issues discussed.
Troop deployment could raise regional tensions
The U.S. official said involving the Syrian army in a confrontation with the Houthis, who belong to a branch of Shia Islam, could heighten the risk of sectarian divisions. Syria’s leadership and its Western partners are seeking to avoid such tensions.
According to the official, Damascus had previously rejected a U.S. request to help fight Hezbollah in Lebanon for the same reason. Taking part in combat against the Iran-backed Houthis could be viewed as a hostile act by Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon and armed groups in Iraq. Syria’s former rebel forces have previously clashed with these groups.
Damascus seeks to demonstrate support for Riyadh
Ahmed al-Sharaa is seeking to show Saudi Arabia and the crown prince that Syria supports them. In the U.S. official’s view, Mohammed bin Salman played an important role in helping the former jihadist leader gain international legitimacy, including by arranging a meeting between Sharaa and U.S. President Donald Trump in May 2025.
The U.S. official said Saudi Arabia had provided financial assistance to Syria, and that Damascus’s show of support could lead to an increase in that aid.
H.A. Hellyer, a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London, said that sending a small number of personnel to protect holy sites, along with technical support to counter drones, could have a positive symbolic impact.
“But broader involvement, especially sending Syrian troops into a combat zone, is an entirely different matter. Given the priorities Damascus needs to focus on, I think the country will avoid that,” Hellyer said.
