Trump Pulls Back at the Last Minute From Strikes on the Houthis

Donald Trump faces a dilemma: responding to the demands of Saudi Arabia, a major Washington ally, while avoiding opening a new front as the war against Iran continues to spread across the region.

The U.S. president reportedly backed out at the last minute of launching American strikes against the Houthis, despite renewed urgent requests from Riyadh.

According to the New York Times, Donald Trump has repeatedly reconsidered his Yemen strategy in recent days. The NYT says the U.S. administration had prepared an air operation for Sunday. Target lists had been approved and bombs were already loaded onto aircraft when the U.S. president reportedly decided to cancel, or at least postpone, the strikes.

Trump had already rejected a similar Saudi request around ten days earlier, made by Mohammed bin Salman during two phone calls on the same day, according to the New York Times.

The White House declined to comment on the reports. A senior administration official quoted by the newspaper merely reiterated that the United States has a defense agreement with Saudi Arabia and would defend its allies.

The Reuters news agency notes that the United States had already bombed the Houthis for two months in early 2025, before Trump ended the campaign after a ceasefire was reached.

Houthis attack strategic mountains

According to Reuters, the Houthis have continued their offensive in Yemen in an attempt to seize the Kahboub mountains, strategic highlands located between the provinces of Taiz and Lahj.

Control of them would allow the pro-Iranian movement to further cut off the Red Sea coast from southern areas still held by Saudi-backed government forces.

The Houthis are approaching this battle with the momentum of their recent advance, while government forces remain largely on the defensive. Fighting is now focused on these highlands, control of which could prove decisive either in consolidating the movement's territorial gains or in enabling government forces to prepare a counteroffensive, Reuters reports.

The Houthi advance also threatens Saudi oil export routes. Greater control of the Red Sea coast weakens one of the main alternative routes used by Riyadh to bypass disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.