Trump threatens to strike Houthis: We will decide quickly

Washington – Agencies: U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would decide “soon” whether the United States would join Saudi Arabia in launching strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, in remarks made yesterday following a Houthi attack on King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. When asked whether he had decided to support Saudi Arabia in targeting the Houthis, Trump told reporters at the White House: “We may do it; we will study the matter. We just learned about the latest attack, so we will make a decision. We are moving very quickly.” Trump described the attacks against Saudi Arabia as “atrocious,” affirming that Saudis are capable of defending their country, and noted that the United States is in contact with the Houthis, adding that their actions were “very bad.” He added that he had not yet spoken with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman but intended to do so, stressing that what happened was unacceptable. For his part, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio strongly condemned the Houthi group’s attacks against Saudi Arabia in recent days, announcing that an American citizen had been killed in one of them.