Trump says Israel helped Saudi Arabia, suggests Abraham Accords talk revival

(Oct. 17, 2026 / JNS)

“Israel has been very helpful to Saudi Arabia,” U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on the White House lawn on Friday, after being asked about Riyadh’s conflict with the Iranian-backed Houthis.

A reporter asked the president whether Saudi Arabia should accept assistance from Israel in fighting Yemen’s Houthi rebels, to which Trump replied, “Yeah, I do. I think they will, sure.”

He went on to say that Jerusalem has already assisted Riyadh, without specifying how.

Trump was then asked whether the idea of Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords was back on the table. He answered, “Yeah, I think so. Maybe more than ever.”

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that nearly every country in the Middle East and the West seeks Israeli assistance, including governments that publicly criticize the Jewish state.

“There is almost no country in the Middle East that doesn’t ask us for help. And I’ll surprise you: There is almost no Western country that doesn’t ask us for help,” he told Channel 14‘s “The Patriots” program on Oct. 13.

Following last week’s Houthi terrorist attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Netanyahu condemned the assault that claimed the lives of at least 13 people and wounded 300 more.

“On behalf of the people of Israel, I extend our deepest condolences to the families of those murdered and our wishes for a full recovery to the injured,” Netanyahu said. He called for a Middle East that “stands united against threats, protects its people, and builds a future of security, cooperation and prosperity for all the peoples of our region.”

The Iranian-backed terrorist army in Yemen on Sunday claimed responsibility for the missile strike on Oct. 10.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group also struck the airport in Dammam, in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, and two facilities belonging to oil giant Saudi Aramco.

The military confrontation between the Saudis and the Iranian-backed jihadist organization escalated after the latter took control last month of a long stretch of territory along the Red Sea coast in Yemen, including several islands in the strategic choke point of the Bab el-Mandab Strait.

The civil war in Yemen has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people since 2014.

The Saudis entered the war the following year at the request of the U.N.-recognized Yemeni government, joined by forces from eight other countries from West Asia and North Africa in an attempt to repel the Houthi rebels.

A fragile ceasefire signed in 2022 began to unravel in July, with the Houthis firing missiles at Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea.

Expanding regional peace

Meanwhile, Israeli President Isaac Herzog met on Wednesday with Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayan in Baku, Azerbaijan, to discuss strengthening the Abraham Accords and expanding regional peace and cooperation.

According to his office, Herzog emphasized the importance Israel attaches to its relations with Bahrain and praised the leadership of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the Bahraini government. He also conveyed his best wishes to the king and the Bahraini people.

The meeting took place during Herzog’s visit to Azerbaijan for the seventh summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, known as CICA.

The Israeli president had also met with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Thursday on the sidelines of the security summit, according to the Kazakh Presidency.

The two men discussed expanding cooperation, focusing on trade, economic and investment ties, according to Astana’s readout. Tokayev said Herzog’s April visit to the Kazakh capital had given “significant impetus” to bilateral relations.

They also talked about tensions in the Middle East, with Tokayev reaffirming Kazakhstan’s “principled position on the need to de-escalate tensions and resolve conflicts exclusively through diplomatic means.”