President Donald Trump reportedly rejected a personal plea from Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to launch airstrikes against Houthi rebels, according to The New York Times. Trump had been deliberating for weeks over Saudi Arabia's requests for assistance as the Houthis escalated their offensive against the kingdom.
On a Thursday, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a key U.S. ally in the conflict with Iran, urged Trump to intervene against the rapidly advancing Houthi forces. Administration officials reported that Trump had met with his advisers the previous day and expressed he did not favor launching strikes. However, following his conversation with the Saudi Crown Prince, Trump reportedly ordered the military to prepare airstrikes against the Houthis.
By Sunday, Trump had seemingly reversed his position again, with administration officials stating that there would be no U.S. airstrikes against the Houthis. This decision to pull back reportedly came after target lists had been approved and bombs were being loaded onto warplanes. One senior official indicated that a significant portion of Trump's inner circle strongly opposed joining Saudi Arabia in its fight against the militant group.
Concurrently, Trump stated on Sunday that the Houthis had agreed not to attack the U.S., despite the Iran-allied group intensifying its war against Saudi Arabia, Fox News reported. Reporter Trey Yingst cited the president as saying that Washington is in constant communication with the Houthis and that they have agreed not to engage with the United States. Trump has previously claimed that the Houthis have refrained from attacking U.S. forces in the region.
'The Houthis called us and they don't want to fight with us,' Trump said on September 12. 'They don't want us to go after them.'
These latest comments came as Saudi Arabia faced increased pressure, including a missile targeting the capital Riyadh on Saturday. The Houthis have also launched a swift offensive within Yemen, capturing significant territory from the internationally recognized government, which is supported by Saudi Arabia.
Fox News also reported that Trump is in 'deciding mode' regarding Iran, where U.S. and Israeli forces conducted a large-scale aerial bombing campaign on February 28, leading to an ongoing standoff. Yingst relayed that Trump indicated 'big things will be happening in the not so distant future' and that 'Iranians better behave.'
The Houthis announced Sunday that Saudi Arabia had carried out 28 strikes in various areas of Yemen over the previous 24 hours, amid clashes between the pro-Iran group and the Riyadh-backed government.
This month, the Houthis, who already control most of Yemen's populated areas, initiated an offensive to seize control of the country's entire Red Sea coast, including the vital Bab al-Mandab strait. The Houthis maintain that navigation through the strait is open and free, except for Saudi vessels.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthis stated Saturday that the Iran-backed group fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh at dawn, shortly after a fire broke out near the Saudi capital's international airport. The conflict, which began in 2014 with the Houthi capture of the capital Sanaa, had been largely dormant since 2022 but reignited in July.
Saudi Arabia has led a coalition backing the internationally recognized government since 2015. This intervention escalated the war, contributing to one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises in Yemen. The UN has warned that in 2025, 17 million people in Yemen will struggle to find food, with an additional million facing extreme hunger.
Officials have suggested that U.S. involvement in the Saudi fight could have been paired with a planned ground offensive by Yemeni government troops. However, individuals with experience in the Middle East have expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of a limited U.S. bombing campaign in compelling the Houthis to negotiate, citing the group's resilience during eight weeks of U.S. airstrikes the previous year. In the spring of 2025, the U.S. conducted airstrikes for over 50 days to ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and to halt attacks on commercial and naval vessels. Despite U.S. Central Command striking over 1,000 targets, the Houthis continued to retaliate, shooting down American drones and firing at naval ships in the Red Sea. Two months into that operation, Trump announced a ceasefire, asserting that the Houthis had promised to cease attacks on ships.