President Donald Trump said he is considering joining Saudi Arabia in its retaliation against Tehran-backed Houthis in Yemen after a deadly attack on Riyadh's main airport, a move that could draw the U.S. further into a second front in the Iran war.
"We may. We're going to look at it," Trump told reporters outside the White House on Saturday when asked if the U.S. would back Saudi Arabian strikes. "We just found out about the recent attack. So, we'll make a decision. We move very quickly."
Two Saudi Arabian government officials told MS NOW that the kingdom is requesting "urgent defense support" from the U.S. following the attacks.
The officials, including a senior member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, did not want to be identified because of the matter's sensitivity. They added that the U.S. needs to intervene "as soon as possible" to help the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen fight the Houthis.
The White House did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.
The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation said the attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh killed 12 people and injured 309 others, the country's official Saudi Gazette media outlet reported.
Colonel Turki Al-Maliki, the spokesman for the Saudi-led Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen, which has been leading the fight against the Houthis, described the attack as a "war crime."
"Therefore, the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition will respond decisively to this terrorist attack in accordance with the Customary International Humanitarian Law," Al-Maliki said in a post on X.
It was the second deadly assault on Riyadh's airport in less than a week.
Three Saudi nationals, including a pilot, were killed in attacks on the facility by Iran-backed Houthi militants on Thursday.
Following Saturday's attack, the Houthis renewed their warning against using Saudi airports.
"We renew our warning to all airlines, experts, employees, workers and travellers against using Saudi airports and airspace, as they are vulnerable to attack and have become a theatre of operations for our forces, with the exception of the airports in (the holy cities of) Mecca and Medina," the Houthis said in a post on X.
Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, intervened in Yemen's civil war between the Houthis and its internationally recognized government after the group seized the Yemeni capital Sanaa in 2014.
Last month, the Trump administration approved the potential $24.3 billion sale of nearly 50 F-35 warplanes to Saudi Arabia in what was seen as a major boost for the kingdom as it faces intensifying attacks from the Houthis. The sale is under congressional review.
But that support would be expensive militarily.
"Potential U.S. involvement in the Saudi-Yemeni government air campaign to degrade Houthi ballistic missile capabilities would mark the first direct U.S. military action against the group since the conclusion of Operation Rough Rider in May 2025," according to the Critical Threats Project, part of the American Enterprise Institute think tank.
The offensive aimed to suppress the Houthis' capabilities, but recent attacks show the group has regrouped.
"After seven months of war, there are questions about the U.S. capacity to wage a sustained campaign against the Houthis, return to combat against Iran if necessary, and prepare for contingencies in other parts of the world, notably East Asia," Steven Cook, an expert on Arab and Turkish politics at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, wrote last month.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom's defense secretary said his government is also examining how to support Saudi Arabia.
"I've spoken to my Saudi counterpart [Khalid bin Salman] on a number of occasions in recent weeks to look at what more we can do to support Saudi Arabia, and I'm afraid last night explains precisely why we are providing that support," Wes Streeting said in an interview on BBC television on Sunday.
Streeting said the U.K. is not getting involved in offensive operations "at this stage."
"We've always been clear that there isn't a military solution to this conflict," Streeting added.
