Washington Warns: Rapid Escalation in the Middle East

Washington, Agencies: The United States has warned of the possibility of a “rapid escalation” in the Middle East amid Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. US President Donald Trump cut short his weekend stay at Camp David and returned to Washington. The White House provided no explanation for this change in schedule, but the US State Department warned Americans in the Middle East of the “possibility of an unexpected escalation,” adding that “Iran-backed Houthis have engaged in hostile acts against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including against civilian airports.” The State Department further stated that “this military conflict is likely to escalate rapidly,” urging “Americans outside the Middle East to seriously reconsider travel to or through the region.” Sources indicated that the United States is considering launching an attack on the Houthis. According to CNN, a meeting Trump held at Camp David discussed “options for launching an attack on Yemen.”

The spokesperson for the Yemen Coalition Support Forces announced that Saudi air defenses successfully intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired by the “terrorist Houthi militia” toward Riyadh early Saturday. Spokesperson Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki stated in a statement published on X that “the escalation by the terrorist Houthi militia and its continued attempts to target civilians and civilian infrastructure in Riyadh confirm the militia’s obstinacy and its deliberate, systematic targeting of civilians and civilian objects in a hostile and terrorist manner.” Al-Maliki added that the Houthi militia attempted to target civilians and civilian infrastructure in the cities of Bishah, Taif, Farasan, and Yanbu, but these hostile attempts were thwarted by air defenses. He reaffirmed the coalition leadership’s inherent right to take appropriate measures in accordance with international humanitarian law and its customary rules to deter the terrorist Houthi militia’s behavior.

Two Houthi military sources told the Associated Press that the group has begun digging tunnels and installing radar systems in the Bab al-Mandab region, which was visited by Iranian Revolutionary Guard elements in recent days.

Meanwhile, Iranian Assembly of Experts Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf linked the resumption of negotiations with the United States and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to the implementation of Tehran’s conditions. Qalibaf stated that Iran had clearly conveyed its conditions and messages to the US side through intermediaries, emphasizing that Tehran’s diplomatic stance is “non-negotiable” and that a return to previous negotiation terms is no longer on the table. Domestically, Qalibaf criticized calls to continue the war and reject the diplomatic track, warning that such approaches could lead Iran to exhaustion and an “endless war,” while simultaneously rejecting calls he described as pushing toward surrender.

Earlier, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei announced that Tehran had informed Washington, through intermediaries, of seven conditions for starting new talks to resolve the crisis. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Rezaei kept open the possibility of Iran reconsidering its stance on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. He said that strikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities and threats against his country had made withdrawal from the treaty an option under consideration, but he confirmed that Iran had not made a final decision on the matter.