A deadly attack on Saudi Arabia’s main international airport on Saturday has prompted President Donald Trump to weigh joining the fight between the kingdom and Iran-backed Houthis in neighboring Yemen.
The missile attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh killed 12 people from several countries, including one American, and wounded more than 200 others.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen blamed them for Saturday's attack. It was the latest of several attacks on the airport in Saudi Arabia’s capital and the deadliest attack in any Gulf Arab nation since the start of the Iran war.
A projectile struck a passenger terminal at the airport on Sunday, according to Colonel Turki al-Maliki, a spokesman for the coalition. That came after the Houthis said the airport under their control in Yemen's capital Sanaa, had been struck again.
The escalation in the new front in the Iran war threatens to bring in greater U.S. military involvement as Trump said he is considering whether to join Saudi strikes against the Houthis. "We may. We’re going to look at it," he said. He also said he would consider launching strikes on Iran, after previously saying he would not attack the country again before November’s midterm elections.
The Houthis have threatened further escalation, and the U.S. getting involved could lead the Houthis to halt shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb waterway and further restrict the flow of oil out of the Persian Gulf.
The Saudis and the Houthis began fighting in 2015 when the kingdom entered Yemen’s civil war on behalf of the internationally recognized government.
Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment via email.
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Could Trump Join Saudi Response?
Robert A. Pape, a political-science professor at the University of Chicago who is tracking the trajectory of the Iran war on his Substack, Escalation Trap, told Newsweek that Saturday’s attack "dramatically increases" the chances that Trump will launch attacks.
According to Pape, advisers will likely present the president with two military options.
"One will be to escalate against Iran directly since the Houthis are a key ally of Iran," he said.
"Iran may not have absolute hundred percent command control over the Houthis but Trump may well consider that attacking Iran will essentially allow him to get two effects with one attack: attack the Houthis indirectly and then attack Iran directly."
In that scenario, Pape said the most likely targets will be oil refineries in Iran in a bid to drive inflation in the country even higher.
"His economic advisers will be telling him that if he hits the oil refining targets that could well dramatically go up from the 90 percent to produce hyperinflation inside of Iran," he said. "That will be a very tempting thing for him because he believes punishment will cause Iran to capitulate."
The second option would focus on the Houthis directly, potentially striking facilities on Perim Island that are used to help identify and track ships.
He said the U.S. could also seek to target attacks on Houthi leaders if U.S. intelligence can locate them.
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Why the U.S. Might Stay Out
The U.S. could also avoid becoming directly involved in the Saudi-Houthi conflict, experts say.
Jennifer Kavanagh, senior fellow and director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, a foreign policy think tank in Washington, D.C., said she believes Trump will not get the U.S. involved because Saturday’s attack does not fundamentally alter U.S. interests in the region.
"First, the escalation does not affect the United States. As Trump has said, the Houthis are not targeting U.S. ships and the United States does not depend on the Bab el-Mandeb that much," Kavanagh told Newsweek.
"Second, the United States cannot afford a wider conflict. It is already running short on munitions to defend its bases and for precision strikes. Finally, the United States can't do much except resume its bombing campaign on Houthi targets which did not work when the United States tried it before."
If Washington does ultimately choose to intervene, Kavanagh expects the military response would largely mirror previous operations.
"If the U.S. does get directly involved, it would look like the 2024-2025 campaign—air and naval strikes on Houthi targets. We've already seen that the Houthis can withstand this," she said.
But Pape argued that the main factor that will drive the president’s decision making is the risk that the Houthis and Iran will target Americans.
"By shooting airplanes out of the sky and attacking airports that have Americans in them," he said. "That's the actual risk. All the other stuff everybody's talking about is yesterday's news."
What Trump Has Said
When asked on Saturday if the U.S. would join Saudi strikes on the Houthis, Trump told reporters: "We may. We're going to look at it. We just found out about the recent attack, so we'll make a decision. We move very quickly."
Then asked if the attack changes his previous position about not striking Iran again until after the midterms, he said: "Well, we’re going to take a look."
Later Saturday, Trump said he planned to speak with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Asked whether the U.S. might become involved, Trump replied: "Well, you're going to find out."
He also said that Saudi Arabia is capable of defending itself against the Houthis.
"Well, they're able to defend. Look, the Saudis are good fighters, but I think the attack was a terrible thing," he said.
A State Department spokesperson told Newsweek on Saturday that the U.S. strongly condemns Houthi attacks on civilian infrastructure and airports, stands with Saudi Arabia and is coordinating closely with officials in Riyadh.
The department urged U.S. citizens to avoid the airport and surrounding areas.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Tobias Meyjes and Trevor Davies