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President Trump called off airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthis at the last minute Sunday, leaving Saudi Arabia to look elsewhere for help as the group seizes more territory.
Getting into it: Two US officials said the military got word just after 2 p.m. Sunday that the strikes Trump had set for 5 p.m. Eastern were off. The New York Times reported crews were already arming the planes. The strikes were ordered after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Trump in a call Thursday that the kingdom could not win this alone. That prompted the president to demand fresh options, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine canceled a trip to Copenhagen to call an emergency 6 p.m. meeting in the Tank, the Pentagon’s secure conference room. Still, one official said military action is not off the table.
Pentagon leaders are split. Some say the US can’t afford a new front with its air defense and long-range munitions running low, and point out the Houthis are not hitting US ships. Others say Washington should back Saudi retaliation and privately worry that sitting this out would betray a key ally.
One senior commander in the region warned that striking the Houthis could endanger US troops and the broader Iran operation, from the naval blockade to security work around the Strait of Hormuz, but said the military could handle both fronts.
Senior Houthi official Mohamed al-Bukhaiti told the Associated Press the group has assured the administration it is not targeting American ships. “We confirmed that we are not targeting the United States, or any other nation, in the strait, with the sole exception of the Saudi enemy,” he said. “That remains the case.”
This all comes as the UK and Turkey have indicated they are willing to help. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham approved a Saudi request for RAF air-to-air refueling of Saudi aircraft on defensive missions, and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara could meet Saudi military needs “particularly in certain technical areas” under the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement it signed last month with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
