Trump stuck in a dilemma over Saudi request for military help

President Donald Trump has spent two weeks wrestling with whether to order US military strikes on Iran-backed Houthi targets in Yemen at Saudi Arabia’s request, before pulling back on Sunday, at least for now, The New York Times reports.

According to the Times, Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman called Trump on Thursday to implore him to help blunt the Houthis’ advance, prompting the president to reverse an earlier decision against strikes and order the Pentagon to prepare air raids.

By Sunday, however, officials said Trump had reversed course again, halting the plan even as bombs were being loaded onto US warplanes.

A senior administration official would only say that “the US has a defence agreement with Saudi Arabia and we will always defend our allies.”

The paper further noted that most of Trump’s inner circle remained sceptical of joining the Saudi fight given existing strains from the Iran war, while experts questioned whether a limited bombing campaign could succeed where a 50-day US campaign in 2025 failed to fully subdue the group — leaving Trump’s next move on the widening conflict still very much undecided.