United States President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he would soon decide whether Washington should join Saudi Arabia in launching strikes against the Iran-backed Houthis, following an attack on Riyadh’s international airport.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said the United States was still weighing its options and had only just learnt of the incident.
“We may. We’re going to look at it. We just found out about the recent attack, so we’ll make a decision,” he said. “We move very quickly.”
The President did not say what form any American involvement would take. Details of the attack, including any damage or casualties, were not immediately available.
The prospect of fresh military action comes at a sensitive time for the White House. Trump has spent months dealing with the political fallout of the Iran war, which began in February and has pushed up global energy prices.
Brent crude remains above $103 a barrel, compared with about $73 before the conflict, while the AAA puts the average price of diesel in the US at $6.28 per gallon.
Rising fuel costs have become a burden for the President and his Republican party, with midterm elections due next month.
Trump has recently tried several ways of easing the pressure, including a deal to import Russian diesel, which drew sharp criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The comments on the Houthis came on the same day Trump told reporters that it was time for Ukraine to get a new president.
He faulted Zelensky over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, which he blames for keeping diesel prices high.
Any American role in strikes on the Houthis would add to Washington’s already heavy involvement in the Middle East, though Trump gave no indication of which way he was leaning.
A decision is expected shortly, going by the President’s own words.
