President Donald Trump is again considering direct attacks against Ansar Allah in Yemen. Saudi Arabia has requested that the US join its war against the Houthis, but so far, the President has limited American involvement to intelligence sharing and military planning.

“We may. We’re going to look at it,” Trump told reporters outside the White House on Saturday when asked if he would order direct strikes on Yemen. “We just found out about the recent attack. So, we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.”

Trump’s statement followed an Ansar Allah attack on Riyadh’s airport that killed 13 people and injured more than 300. Two Saudi defense officials told MS NOW that the kingdom was requesting “urgent defense support” from the US. 

Trump has rejected multiple requests from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for direct US strikes on Ansar Allah. Last month, The New York Times reported that Trump met with military advisers to discuss strikes on Ansar Allah. The week before, bin Salman called the President to request that the US directly intervene in Yemen as Ansar Allah was taking swaths of territory, including the Red Sea coastline, from Saudi-backed forces. 

At the conclusion of the meeting, the President decided not to authorize strikes. However, bin Salman made a second appeal to Trump. The President appeared to change his mind and ordered the Pentagon to prepare for war with Yemen. 

According to the Times’ accounting, Trump changed direction again that Sunday and elected to hold off on strikes. The President’s decision came so late that target lists had been approved and bombs were already loaded on the planes. 

A senior administration official told the outlet that most members of Trump’s inner circle are “deeply skeptical or outright opposed” to attacking Ansar Allah. Current and former officials do not believe that limited US strikes against Ansar Allah will change the situation on the ground. 

One particular concern is that even if the US strikes Ansar Allah targets, the Saudi and UAE-backed forces in Yemen are ill-equipped to exploit the American support. 

Trump ordered strikes on Ansar Allah in March of 2025 in response to a blockade of Israeli shipping. The US conducted a major, weeks-long bombing campaign in Yemen. The campaign ended with a US-Ansar Allah ceasefire in May, after the group came close to striking a US aircraft carrier. The agreement notably did not require Ansar Allah to lift its blockade against Israeli shipping.

The blockade of Israeli shipping was later lifted when Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in October 2025. Ansar Allah would impose a blockade against Saudi shipping once fighting reignited in July. 

Following the outbreak of fighting in Yemen, Ansar Allah has met with US officials and expressed that the group is committed to the ceasefire with the US. US officials also say that Ansar Allah has pledged to limit its blockade to Saudi shipping rather than completely close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. However, US officials are concerned that the group will close the narrow chokepoint if American planes begin bombing Yemen.