US President Donald Trump has nominated Republican congressman Wesley Hunt, a US Army veteran, as his new ambassador to Saudi Arabia -- a post that had been left vacant amid the war with Iran.
Hunt's nomination was sent Monday to the US Senate, which must vote on his confirmation.
"Having served in the region both in combat as an Army officer and for two years as a diplomatic liaison in the Kingdom, I understand the strategic importance of the partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia and the profound responsibility of this position," Hunt said in a post on X.
The nomination comes at a sensitive time for Saudi Arabia, a key US ally, after fresh attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis on Saudi soil opened a new front in the Middle East conflict.
The group fighting the Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government in Yemen -- last week seized control of Yemen's Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which has become vital as the wider US-Iran war chokes the Strait of Hormuz.
It has also targeted oil installations in Saudi Arabia, the world's top exporter of crude, sending oil prices above the symbolic threshold of $100 a barrel.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had recently asked Trump to order strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, but the US president refused, Axios reported.