October 9th, 2026: Syria Sending Troops To Fight The Houthis? & Iranian Plot Targets U.S. Bases

Mike Baker (0:13)

It's Friday, the 9th of October. Look at that, the end of another work week. Well done, everyone. Welcome to The President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, yet another regional actor may be joining forces with Saudi Arabia in its war against the Iran-backed Houthis. Syria is now considering sending as many as 20,000 troops to Yemen, potentially providing the manpower for a much larger ground offensive. Later in the show, new reporting reveals an alleged Iranian plot to use drones against US military bases in Germany. Plus, a drone strike has hit a major Russian data center operated by Yandex, that's the country's leading technology and AI company. And in today's Back of the Brief, South Korea has successfully tested a domestically developed hypersonic glide weapon as Seoul races to keep pace with North Korea's missile program.

But first, in today's PDB Spotlight, Saudi Arabia may be getting ready to add another country to its expanding campaign against the Houthis, and this one could provide something the coalition needs badly, and that would be manpower. According to Axios, Saudi Arabia and Syria are discussing the possibility of deploying Syrian troops to Yemen to fight alongside Saudi-backed government forces.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharah has not made a final decision, but American officials familiar with the talks say he is seriously considering the request, and this would not be some token deployment. One source familiar with the discussions says Syria could eventually send between 10,000 and 20,000 troops. The issue reportedly came up when al-Sharah met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh earlier this week. Saudi officials are looking for additional ground forces because the Yemeni units currently leading the offensive are generally less experienced and less capable than the Iran-backed Houthis. The US has also reportedly been consulted. American officials tell Axios the Trump administration does not oppose the idea in principle, and CENTCOM has reportedly been involved in discussions about how Syrian troops could potentially be deployed. From Washington's perspective, the attraction to this concept is fairly obvious. Saudi Arabia gets more forces for its campaign without requiring the US to become deeply involved in another ground war.

And Syria could provide an important missing piece in the coalition now forming around Saudi Arabia. The Saudis bring the money, command structure and air power. Turkey and Pakistan are already providing defensive capabilities, air defenses, equipment, intelligence and other military support. And the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces are fighting on the ground. Well, Syria would be the one to provide more manpower.

But some of those soldiers would come with, well, let's call it considerable baggage. Axios reports that two Syrian formations are under consideration, the 90th Division near Damascus and the 84th Division in southern Syria. The 84th Division reportedly includes thousands of foreign Islamist fighters who originally came to Syria during the civil war to fight Assad. Many fought under the umbrella of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the rebel movement that eventually toppled Assad and brought al-Sharah to power. Now some of those same fighters could potentially be sent to Yemen to fight the Houthis. And that creates one of the bigger risks for Damascus.

The Houthis follow Zaydi Shiite Islam. Now many of the Syrian fighters who could be deployed are hardline Sunni Islamists. American officials are reportedly concerned, and well rightly so, that putting those forces directly against one another could inject an even stronger sectarian dimension into an already dangerous regional conflict. And we've all become fairly familiar with what happens when the Shiite and the Sunni collide. There are broader geopolitical risks as well. Syria's new government has tried to avoid getting pulled into foreign wars while it rebuilds after 14 years of civil conflict. Its military is still being assembled from the assortment of rebel factions that helped overthrow Assad. Sending thousands of those troops abroad would be a major commitment. It could also put Damascus into direct confrontation with Iran's remaining regional network. Tehran backed Assad, of course, throughout the Syrian civil war. Hezbollah and Iran-aligned militias in Iraq spent years fighting many of the same Syrian rebels who now control Damascus. A Syrian deployment against the Iran-backed Houthis would represent another dramatic reversal in the Middle East's strategic landscape. Still, al-Sharah has reasons to consider it. Saudi Arabia has become one of Syria's most important partners. Mohammed bin Salman helped al-Sharah gain international legitimacy after Assad's fall, including helping arrange his meeting with President Trump last year. Riyadh has also provided badly needed financial assistance as Syria attempts to rebuild.

Helping defend Saudi Arabia and potentially helping defeat the Houthis could deepen their relationship considerably. And the pressure on Riyadh is growing. Saudi-backed Yemeni forces launched a major ground offensive this week and have already made gains along the Red Sea coast. But the Houthis are responding by taking the war directly into Saudi Arabia. They claimed another ballistic missile attack today on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. Saudi authorities say strikes against the airports in Riyadh and Naba have killed three people this week. And the attacks are now affecting civilian aviation in Saudi Arabia. Lufthansa has suspended flights to Riyadh through October 16th. Indigo has canceled service through October 9th, while Air India and Akasa Air have canceled flights through October 10th. Dozens of additional international flights have reportedly been scrapped. So Riyadh is confronting two problems at once, defeating the Houthis inside Yemen while protecting Saudi cities and infrastructure from continuing missile and drone attacks.