Trump called off airstrikes on Houthis as bombs were being loaded, report says

Donald Trump told the Pentagon to prepare strikes on Houthi fighters in Yemen, then reversed course before the aircraft launched, the New York Times reported Monday. Bombs were being loaded onto planes when the order came down.

The reversal followed a call from Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who had pressed Trump for weeks to join the fighting. Trump has resisted. During a visit to Ireland earlier this month, he told reporters the Houthis "called us, and they don't want to fight us" and said the group was allowing ships through the Bab al-Mandab strait. He called the Houthi problem limited to "one country" — apparently Saudi Arabia — and said that country would "take care of fixing that."

The Yemeni president, Rashad al-Alimi, spoke to Trump on Sunday and requested support for his UN-recognised government. Trump made no direct pledge of military support, sources said.

The US bombed the Houthis for two months in early 2025 before Trump reached a ceasefire and withdrew. He has kept out of the conflict since.