The United States warned that fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthis could “escalate rapidly” after a missile attack targeted Riyadh for the first time since the Yemen conflict resumed.
US President Donald Trump cut short a weekend at Camp David, a secluded presidential complex in rural Maryland, to return unexpectedly to the White House.
Washington refused last week a Saudi request to strike the Houthis, and Fox News reported Sunday that Trump had said the Houthis have agreed not to hit US targets, according to US news platform Axios. The White House gave no explanation for the early return, which comes as a new threshold was crossed in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, who control a large part of Yemen and are fighting government forces backed by a coalition led by Riyadh. Saudi Arabia’s ally the United States has sent mixed signals.
In recent weeks, the Houthis’ lightning offensive seizing swathes of Yemeni territory has left hundreds dead and, according to the UN refugee agency, displaced more than 110,000 people.
Condemning the Houthis’ latest attacks, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the broadcaster NTV that his country had discussions with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, partners in a mutual defence pact, about possible assistance.
Separately, the State Department restricted travel for American government employees to the Saudi cities of Taif and Yanbu, home to a major Red Sea oil export terminal that has previously been targeted by Houthi strikes. On Sunday, US Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in a rare visit to Cairo. Iran’s top negotiator said Tehran had conveyed to the US through mediators its conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which it has blockaded throughout the Middle East war, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi set off on Sunday for New York to attend the UN General Assembly.
