President Donald Trump was reportedly considering a "large scale military operation" after an Iran-backed militant group unleashed a major attack on the capital of Saudi Arabia.
Trump was shown returning early Sunday from an overnight stay at Camp David, where he was believed to have been weighing options on how to respond to the recent Houthi attacks and other provocations.
Ahead of a planned meeting on Tuesday with six Gulf allies during the UN General Assembly in New York, Trump hinted that the complete destruction of Iran remained on the table.
"I have a big decision coming up," he told Axios. "Do I want to go in and annihilate them or do I not? It's a big decision. Anything could happen with me."
The New York Times characterized the Houthis' deployment of missile and drone strikes on Riyadh oil facilities and other targets as a "significant escalation" in the ongoing US conflict with Iran and an ongoing proxy war between the Saudis and Houthis in Yemen.
Saudi Gen. Turki Al-Maliki, the spokesman for the kingdom's military coalition in Yemen, said Tuesday that the Saudis had intercepted other missile strikes in recent weeks targeting Saudi "civilians and civilian infrastructure."
Saturday's missile strikes on Riyadh led to emergency alarms to sound, with residents reporting loud explosions and severe disruptions to the city's airport, a major hub for intercontinental flights.
The attack is also likely to create additional havoc in the oil market, where prices have surged globally due to the US embargo in the Strait of Hormuz.
Journalists reported seeing firefighters attempting to extinguish flames from a fuel tank near the Riyadh airport bearing the logo of Aramco, the Saudi's state-owned oil company, according to the Straits Times.
A separate attack on an East-West pipeline will reportedly cut off the supply to at least two European oil refineries.
Despite the concerns about the US blockade of Iranian oil, the Pentagon sought to reassure consumers that oil and gas shipments through the strategic Persian Gulf chokepoint had recently reached their highest level in six months, the Washington Examiner reported.
But another major escalation of Middle East turmoil is bound to have ripple effects, which include putting US embassies in the region on high alert.
In addition to a planned meeting with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman on Tuesday, Trump also planned to make Iran's nuclear threat a focal point of his upcoming UN address.
Recent activity at Iran's Pickaxe Mountain has fueled speculation that Tehran may be attempting to resume nuclear work at the underground facility.
https://rumble.com/v7fpx64-houthis-claim-attacks-on-saudi-arabias-capital.html
Trump was shown returning early Sunday from an overnight stay at Camp David, where he was believed to have been weighing options on how to respond to the recent Houthi attacks and other provocations.
Ahead of a planned meeting on Tuesday with six Gulf allies during the UN General Assembly in New York, Trump hinted that the complete destruction of Iran remained on the table.
"I have a big decision coming up," he told Axios. "Do I want to go in and annihilate them or do I not? It's a big decision. Anything could happen with me."
The New York Times characterized the Houthis' deployment of missile and drone strikes on Riyadh oil facilities and other targets as a "significant escalation" in the ongoing US conflict with Iran and an ongoing proxy war between the Saudis and Houthis in Yemen.
Saudi Gen. Turki Al-Maliki, the spokesman for the kingdom's military coalition in Yemen, said Tuesday that the Saudis had intercepted other missile strikes in recent weeks targeting Saudi "civilians and civilian infrastructure."
Saturday's missile strikes on Riyadh led to emergency alarms to sound, with residents reporting loud explosions and severe disruptions to the city's airport, a major hub for intercontinental flights.
The attack is also likely to create additional havoc in the oil market, where prices have surged globally due to the US embargo in the Strait of Hormuz.
Journalists reported seeing firefighters attempting to extinguish flames from a fuel tank near the Riyadh airport bearing the logo of Aramco, the Saudi's state-owned oil company, according to the Straits Times.
A separate attack on an East-West pipeline will reportedly cut off the supply to at least two European oil refineries.
Despite the concerns about the US blockade of Iranian oil, the Pentagon sought to reassure consumers that oil and gas shipments through the strategic Persian Gulf chokepoint had recently reached their highest level in six months, the Washington Examiner reported.
But another major escalation of Middle East turmoil is bound to have ripple effects, which include putting US embassies in the region on high alert.
In addition to a planned meeting with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman on Tuesday, Trump also planned to make Iran's nuclear threat a focal point of his upcoming UN address.
Recent activity at Iran's Pickaxe Mountain has fueled speculation that Tehran may be attempting to resume nuclear work at the underground facility.
https://rumble.com/v7fpx64-houthis-claim-attacks-on-saudi-arabias-capital.html
