President Donald Trump has changed his strategy on Yemen several times, The New York Times reports, torn between Saudi pressure to strike the Iran-backed Houthis and the risk of opening another front in the Middle East war.
Yemen’s Houthi movement has staged a lightning offensive in recent weeks to take over the country’s entire Red Sea coast, leaving the Saudi-backed government scrambling to respond.
The New York Times said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Trump on Sunday “to implore him, again, to step in to help blunt the rapidly advancing group.”
Trump had told his advisers the day before that he opposed strikes but changed his mind after the call and “told the Pentagon to prepare for airstrikes against the Houthis,” the newspaper reported, citing anonymous administration officials.
