Saudi defense minister, Pentagon chief discuss Yemen cooperation

Saudi Defense Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed on Saturday night cooperation on situation in Yemen with U.S. counterpart Ashton Carter.

According to the Saudi Press Agency, the two discussed in a call areas of common concern, while the U.S. defense secretary reiterated his country’s support of the Saudi-led air campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The United States placed two top figures in Yemen’s Houthi rebellion on its sanctions blacklist last week, following suit after the United Nations approved global sanctions on the two.

The U.S. Treasury Department named Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi, and leading backer Ahmed Ali Saleh, son of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, to its blacklist, freezing any assets they might have on U.S. property and forbidding Americans from dealings with them.

Earlier this month, the U.S. stepped up weapons deliveries in support of the Saudi-led coalition.

Yemen’s Houthis have joined forces with Saleh-allied militias in an aggressive bid for power in the crisis-wrecked country. In September 2014, the militias took over the capital Sanaa and eventually forced President Hadi to escape house arrest and flee to the city of Aden.