President Trump keeps edging toward—and then backing away from—what could amount to a significant escalation in the war with Iran, the New York Times reports. For weeks, he has been weighing urgent Saudi requests to hit Iran-backed Houthi forces that have resumed attacks on Saudi targets and choked key Red Sea shipping lanes. On Thursday, “things came to a head” after Trump received another call from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman requesting military help, according to the story. Trump reversed his earlier opposition to the idea and ordered the Pentagon to prepare a bombing campaign against the Houthis in Yemen, then pulled back again Sunday just as bombs were being loaded onto US jets, two sources tell the newspaper.
Most in Trump’s inner circle are described as wary of opening another front while US forces are stretched in the confrontation with Iran, and past US strikes on the Houthis have proved costly and inconclusive. The core “dilemma” for Trump, as laid out in the story: Houthis aren’t targeting US ships right now, but they are punishing a US partner seen as crucial in the fight against Iran. Both Axios and CBS News have previously reported that the crown prince has spoken with Trump multiple times and pressed the US to take direct military action.