JEDDAH (Dispatches) -- Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman met U.S. Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper in Jeddah on Monday for what Riyadh described as a review of “bilateral relations and the latest regional developments”, a meeting that came days after President Donald Trump twice rejected the crown prince’s urgent appeals for direct U.S. military strikes against Yemen’s armed forces.
The encounter underscored the deepening crisis facing Riyadh as Yemeni missile and drone strikes reached deep into Saudi territory, Pakistan refused to honor its mutual defense commitments, and the kingdom’s oil lifeline remained severed.
According to Axios, citing two U.S. officials, bin Salman telephoned Trump twice on Thursday as Yemeni forces advanced on the Red Sea port of Mokha, urging the American president to order strikes on Ansarallah. 
Trump rejected both requests. U.S. officials said Washington’s priority is safeguarding the Strait of Hormuz and avoiding another military front, though approximately 200 U.S. personnel are providing intelligence and targeting support inside Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan also formally ruled out joining the war despite the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement signed just one month ago, which states that an attack on one signatory is an attack on all. 
A Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson said “there is no such thing under discussion right now,” adding that Islamabad would act “when the time comes”.
Analysts noted that neither Pakistan nor Turkiye appear willing to be drawn into another expanding Western Asian war, and that the Mecca pact may wither if Riyadh insists on invoking it.
Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, which had been carrying 4-5 million barrels per day — roughly 4% of global supply — remains shut after drone attacks last week that Riyadh said originated from Iraq. 
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed and Bab al-Mandab now under Yemeni control, Saudi Arabia faces what Israeli media described as a “three-way bottleneck” threatening its oil exports.
Israel Hayom reported that Riyadh has indirectly approached Israel through CENTCOM for intelligence assistance to prevent the strait’s closure, while also requesting help from Persian Gulf states and Egypt. 
The crown prince reportedly warned that blocking Bab al-Mandab would inflict severe damage on the global economy.
The kingdom’s predicament has left it simultaneously pleading for American strikes, seeking Israeli intelligence, and watching its Pakistani ally walk away — all while Yemeni forces continue their lightning offensive across the Red Sea coast.