Trump halts Yemen airstrikes as Houthis advance on strategic terrain

Bombs were being loaded onto aircraft when the order came through to stop. Donald Trump had reversed himself again—this time calling off US airstrikes against Houthi fighters in Yemen just as the Pentagon was preparing to launch them, according to reporting by the New York Times. The decision came after Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, had made a direct appeal for American military intervention to halt what has become a rapid and destabilizing advance by the Iran-aligned group across Yemen's terrain.

The Houthis are moving to seize strategic mountain ranges that would give them control over the Red Sea coast and cut off supply lines to areas still held by Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces. More significantly, they are advancing toward the Bab al-Mandab strait, one of the world's most critical shipping chokepoints and an alternative route Saudi Arabia has relied on to move oil exports when the Strait of Hormuz faces disruption. The fighting has been intense and recent. Since early September, at least 125,000 people have been displaced by the escalating hostilities. Taiz city, where much of the ground combat has centered, has absorbed roughly 86,000 of those displaced Yemenis. The battles have focused on remote districts like Al-Wazi'iyah in Taiz province and Ras al-Ara along the Indian Ocean coast—terrain that, if secured by the Houthis, would allow them to consolidate control and open new fronts against their opponents.

Trump's handling of the Yemen question has been erratic. Earlier this month, during a visit to Ireland, he told reporters that the Houthis had contacted him and expressed no desire to fight the United States. He noted that the group was allowing ships to pass through the Bab al-Mandab strait and suggested the situation would resolve itself favorably. He characterized the Houthi problem as limited to Saudi Arabia's concerns, implying Riyadh should handle it alone. Yet when bin Salman called to request direct US military support, Trump initially agreed and instructed the Pentagon to prepare strikes. Then he changed course entirely, canceling the operation before it could proceed.

Saudi Arabia has launched hundreds of airstrikes in recent days against Houthi positions in the Kahboub mountains, but these have done little to slow the group's ground advance. The Yemeni president, Rashad al-Alimi, also reached out to Trump on Sunday, requesting military backing for his UN-recognized government. Trump made no firm commitment during that conversation, according to sources familiar with the call. The Houthis, meanwhile, claimed on Saturday that they had fired on Riyadh itself, with smoke visible near the main airport.

The dilemma Trump faces is genuine but self-created. He is under pressure from a close ally in Saudi Arabia to intervene militarily, yet he is also reluctant to deepen American involvement in what he views as an unpopular conflict. The US did conduct a two-month bombing campaign against the Houthis in early 2025, but Trump halted those strikes after negotiating a ceasefire with the group and has stayed out of the fighting since. A broader US-Israeli war against Iran has largely failed to achieve its objectives, and midterm elections are approaching—factors that appear to be weighing on the administration's calculus.

The administration's stated priority seems to be securing at least some flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz while avoiding deeper entanglement in Yemen. But that strategy carries longer-term costs. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies increasingly view the United States as unreliable, a perception that threatens the foundational "security for oil" arrangement under which Washington provides a military umbrella to Gulf states in exchange for stable energy supplies. By refusing to act when asked, Trump may be preserving short-term flexibility while eroding the very alliance structure that underpins American strategy in the region. The Houthis continue their advance, and the question of whether the United States will ultimately be drawn back in remains unanswered.