Scoop: Trump gave Saudi crown prince his backing for risky strikes on Houthis

Axios reports that President Trump privately gave Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman his backing for a risky military strike against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, according to U.S. officials. On Monday, Saudi forces bombed the airport in the Houthi-controlled capital of Sanaa, and the Houthis answered with ballistic missiles and drones aimed at an airport in southwest Saudi Arabia. Axios describes it as the most serious cross-border escalation since twenty twenty-two, one that could shatter a four-year unofficial truce between the two sides. The confrontation began when an Iranian Mahan Air flight, which the U.S. has sanctioned as tied to the Revolutionary Guard, landed in Sanaa to carry a Houthi delegation to a funeral in Iran.

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