Trump Says He’s Considering Whether US Should Join Saudi Attacks Against Houthis

The United States might join Saudi attacks against the Yemen-based Houthi terrorist group following fresh fighting between the two sides, said President Donald Trump on Saturday.

When asked about the possibility of U.S. forces joining in the Houthi–Saudi conflict following an attack on the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Trump told reporters at the White House: “We just found out about the recent attack. So we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.”

The president was also asked about whether the Houthi airport attack on Saturday would change his previously announced U.S. posture around not attacking Iran before the midterm elections next month. “Well, we’re gonna take a look,” he responded.

Saudi authorities said those who died in the airport attack included four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshi nationals, a Palestinian, a U.S. citizen, an Egyptian, a Jordanian, a Syrian, and a Sudanese national.

His comments came as Saudi authorities said Sunday that King Fahd International Airport in Dammam was hit in a separate attack, with few details. The city is on the Persian Gulf near Bahrain and Qatar.

It’s not clear whether there were any injuries or how much the airport was damaged. Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said it’s evaluating the damage.

The Houthis, an Iran-backed group that controls portions of Yemen, has been claiming a series of attacks in the past week on Saudi airports and military and oil facilities.

Sunday’s attack occurred as the Saudis hosted a major international energy conference in Riyadh, with other high-profile events including an investment gathering on the horizon.

Saudi Arabia under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has sought to open up more to the world as a business and tourism destination, but the Houthi attacks threaten those efforts.

“There is no way that somebody will break our back,” the Saudi energy minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, told the conference. “We are like a phoenix, we come out of the ashes all the time.”

Also Sunday, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, and Turkey released a joint statement that condemned “in the strongest terms” the Houthis’ recent attacks against Saudi Arabia, including Sunday’s attack in Riyadh.

They cited the “ongoing hostile attacks perpetrated by the Houthi militia against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including the heinous attacks targeting King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, resulting in civilian deaths and injuries, as well as damage to civilian infrastructure and facilities, which constitute a blatant violation of international law,” according to the post on X.

Last week, the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia warned Americans about traveling to the country’s capital as well as traveling near Saudi Arabia’s border with Yemen.

“The military conflict has the potential to escalate,” the alert said. “U.S. citizens should be aware of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions. We recommend checking your flight departure status directly with the airline and with the airport.”

Last week, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that the United States would not launch new military strikes before the Nov. 4 elections, which could determine whether the Republican or Democratic Party controls the House or the Senate.

Washington and Tehran, the president said, have been engaged in productive discussions about potentially ending the U.S.–Iran war, which began with U.S.–Israeli strikes in late February.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.