Targets locked. Warplanes ready. Bombs loaded. Trump reportedly pulled back from planned US strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets in Yemen just as the military was preparing to launch the operation.
Then US President Donald Trump said – not yet.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly changed course over whether to order military strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets in Yemen following appeals from Saudi Arabia, with the administration deciding by Sunday to hold off on strikes, at least for now. The president had resisted Saudi appeals for weeks as the Houthis, taking advantage of instability in the Middle East, reignited their conflict with Saudi Arabia this summer. By midday Sunday, he appeared to have reversed course again.
Because they were not authorised to discuss military planning, the officials spoke on condition of anonymity.
Administration officials said there would be no US airstrikes against the Houthis, at least for the time being. The issue came to a head on Thursday when Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader and a key US ally in the war against Iran, called Trump and again urged him to intervene against the advancing Houthis, administration officials said.
The issue came to a head last week after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi’s de facto leader and a major ally in the Iran war, called Trump to implore him, again, to step in to help blunt the rapidly advancing group, NYT reported, citing US officials. Those forces, however, have struggled against the Houthis. Bombs were being loaded into warplanes.
If Washington were to join the Saudi campaign, it could do so alongside a planned ground offensive by Yemeni government forces, officials said. But moments before US troops could launch an attack on Houthi hideouts in Yemen, President Donald Trump decided to back out of the mission, despite ally Saudi Arabia’s urgent call for help, according to a report by The New York Times. Earlier reporting noted: According to the report , Trump changed his plans at the eleventh hour as commanders had “approved target lists, troops were loading bombs onto US warplanes selected for the missions and the wave of attacks was just about to begin.”
Earlier reporting noted: Target lists were approved. Earlier reporting noted: The US president had been wavering on Saudi’s appeals for US military assistance in fighting the Yemeni militia’s steadily expanding control over the strategically important territory near the Red Sea.
The White House press office declined to comment on Trump’s deliberations.
A senior administration official said only: “the US has a defense agreement with Saudi Arabia and we will always defend our allies,” NYT reported. Most members of Trump’s inner circle were either deeply sceptical or opposed to joining the Saudi campaign against the Houthis, particularly given the pressure already facing the US military in the war with Iran, a senior administration official reportedly said.
