France to deploy troops and air-defense systems to protect Saudi oil hub Yanbu from Houthi attacks

France will deploy troops, radar and air-defense systems to Saudi Arabia to protect a key Red Sea oil hub as Riyadh struggles to contain escalating Houthi missile and drone attacks, President Emmanuel Macron has announced.

Macron claimed that French forces would not join the fighting but would merely protect the strategic energy facility under an agreement finalized with Riyadh. The announcement came hours after the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted six ballistic missiles heading toward Taif, which hosts a key Saudi air base, and the strategic port city of Yanbu.

“We are going to send military resources, that is to say, soldiers, radar systems and defense systems, to protect the site of Yanbu,” Macron told TF1 and France 2 on Thursday.

Macron said the Yanbu hub, which handles several million barrels of oil, had been “very badly damaged” in previous attacks. The Red Sea port has become increasingly important for Saudi exports as the US-Iran war severely restricts tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

The Houthis claimed on Thursday that they had launched missile and drone strikes against several “sensitive targets” in the kingdom, specifically naming Saudi Aramco infrastructure in Yanbu. A Greek-operated Patriot battery already deployed in Saudi Arabia also intercepted a ballistic missile and a drone in the wider Yanbu area on Thursday, according to Reuters.

The Houthis have framed their campaign as a fight to drive Saudi-backed government forces out of Yemen, end Riyadh’s blockade and restore the country’s sovereignty, warning foreign powers against joining the Saudi campaign.

France is the latest country Riyadh has turned to for military assistance after Washington stopped short of the direct intervention sought by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Earlier this month, the Saudi leader asked US President Donald Trump to order strikes against the Houthis, but Trump reportedly refused.

Trump later noted that the Houthis were “letting most ships go through” the Red Sea and were focused on “just one country.” Washington instead offered intelligence sharing and targeting assistance, while American forces remain focused on Iran.

Riyadh has consequently sought additional support from France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt as its stocks of missile interceptors come under pressure.

Britain has already agreed to deploy an RAF Voyager tanker to provide air-to-air refueling for Saudi operations, adding to UK air-defense equipment and personnel already stationed in the kingdom. Pakistan, which has a mutual-defense agreement with Saudi Arabia, has pledged to defend the kingdom “to any extent,” although Islamabad has not announced a new combat deployment.

Egypt has offered Riyadh “unwavering” political support but has not announced military assistance. Italy also maintains an air-defense mission in Saudi Arabia; an Italian Eurofighter stationed at King Fahd Air Base was damaged during a Houthi attack last week.

The renewed Saudi appeals come as the Houthis have made major territorial gains along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, seizing Mokha and strategic islands around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. The group has also targeted Saudi oil infrastructure and shipping while demanding an end to the Saudi blockade of Yemen.

The fighting threatens Saudi Arabia from both sides of the Arabian Peninsula: Iran has severely disrupted the kingdom’s traditional export route through Hormuz, while the Houthi advance and attacks are putting mounting pressure on its alternative Red Sea corridor through Yanbu and Bab al-Mandeb.