President Donald Trump reportedly canceled planned U.S. airstrikes against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis at the last minute on Sunday, even as American personnel were in the process of loading bombs onto aircraft, as detailed by The New York Times.
The Trump administration had geared up for the strikes, following a renewed request from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for military assistance against the Houthis. Ultimately, though, Trump opted not to join Saudi Arabia in the offensive, at least for now, according to the report.
The Pentagon chose not to comment, and there was no response from the White House regarding requests for further comment.
This decision came after a swift Houthi offensive across Yemen and renewed attacks aimed at Saudi Arabia. Washington has so far turned down repeated Saudi appeals to get directly involved in the fighting, as reported by Reuters. The Houthis have maintained open diplomatic channels with Washington, even as violence has surged in Yemen. Notably, U.S. officials met with Houthi representatives in Oman earlier this month to discuss the importance of upholding their ceasefire and avoiding assaults on American vessels while the Houthi campaign against Saudi interests continued.
Recently, the Houthis took responsibility for attacks aimed at Riyadh, while Saudi Arabia claimed its air defenses intercepted and destroyed a Houthi missile launched toward the capital. Houthi forces are also trying to seize strategic high ground in the Kahboub Mountains, which lie between the Red Sea coast and areas held by Yemen’s Saudi-backed government. If successful, this could help the Houthis secure positions around the critical Bab el-Mandeb Strait and open new fronts against the Saudi-backed forces. Despite hundreds of airstrikes from Saudi Arabia targeting Houthi positions, their advance appears to be ongoing.
The escalating conflict has spurred a humanitarian crisis, resulting in the displacement of over 112,000 people within Yemen as of September 18, with more than 100,000 of those displacements occurring in just the preceding two weeks, according to the United Nations and the International Organization for Migration.
The Houthi advance poses a threat to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a vital maritime chokepoint through which about 8.1 million barrels per day of oil and petroleum liquids passed in the second quarter of 2026. As tensions in the Strait of Hormuz have led to disruptions, Saudi oil exports there increased significantly, highlighting the Strait’s rising importance.
The United States had previously conducted a large-scale bombing campaign against the Houthis in 2025, targeting over 800 Houthi sites after initiating Operation Rough Rider. Trump’s administration later halted these actions after a ceasefire emerged, brokered by Oman, stipulating that neither side would target the other.
Experts have commented on the shifting strategies in U.S. foreign policy, suggesting a potential disengagement from the prolonged conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis. Some indicate that past U.S. support for Saudi Arabia has not yielded the desired outcomes, with arguments highlighting the current limitations of American military power in the region.
Despite these setbacks, U.S. officials did engage with Houthi representatives in Oman earlier this month amidst the escalating conflict with Saudi Arabia. The Houthi delegation expressed intentions to honor their ceasefire with the U.S. while concurrently maintaining their operations against Saudi shipping interests.
Analysts further note that rising tensions could lead to a broader regional conflict, with additional countries like the U.A.E., Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait potentially getting more involved militarily against perceived Iranian aggression.
