WASHINGTON (AP) – A senior U.S. military officer says the U.S. is conducting aerial surveillance of Saudi Arabia’s border with Yemen to help the Saudis monitor potential threats of a ground incursion into their country by Iranian-supported rebels known as Houthis.
The officer also said the U.S. Central Command has been authorized to provide aerial refueling for Saudi warplanes in support of their bombing campaign against the Houthis, although no refueling missions have been flown yet.
The officer, who spoke to a small group of reporters Thursday under condition of anonymity, said Saudi ground forces in the vicinity of the Yemen border are postured defensively and not in a way that would suggest they are prepared to invade Yemen.