UK to provide Saudi Arabia with 'defensive' military support, says Burnham

Britain has agreed to provide Saudi Arabia with "defensive" military support in the face of attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Monday.

A UK defense minister said Tuesday the move was also intended to support Britain's own national security.

What defensive military support will the UK provide Saudi Arabia?

A British tanker plane will provide "defensive" air-to-air refuelling for Saudi warplanes, helping the kingdom defend against Houthi strikes, the UK government confirmed late Monday.

The RAF Voyager, normally based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, will refuel British-built Typhoon jets used by Saudi Arabia. The mission is expected to start within days and will be time-limited, lasting an estimated "weeks."

Why is the UK supporting Saudi Arabia now?

The support follows a Saudi request after the Houthis stepped up drone and missile attacks in recent weeks, alongside a lightning offensive to capture Yemen's Red Sea coast. A Houthi attack on Riyadh on Saturday was the first to target the Saudi capital in years, marking a major escalation. UK defence minister Luke Pollard told Sky News the support was "doing it for national security reasons in support of our own national security."

"In dangerous times, good friends stand together," Pollard said, adding that the support would comply with international humanitarian law. The refuelling mission adds to the UK Sky Sabre air defence system already deployed in Saudi Arabia. Burnham announced the support late Monday while travelling to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he is due to meet Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.

How does this fit into the wider regional conflict?

Burnham told reporters he agreed to the Saudi request "to secure the interests of Britain" and the wider Middle East, citing the need to keep "pathways open." The move came as G7 nations called on the Houthis to halt their strikes on Saudi Arabia, adding a new threat to the region's conflicts. The attacks threaten global trade and have pushed up energy prices as Iran and its allies tighten their grip on two key waterways, the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab strait.

Top crude exporter Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf rely on both routes to ship oil and gas. This month, the Houthis, who already held most of Yemen's populated areas, captured the country's entire Red Sea coast in a rapid offensive, giving them control of the Bab al-Mandab strait. Saudi Arabia has led a coalition backing Yemen's internationally recognized government since 2015, an intervention that escalated a war which has triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.