Media: The U.S. will not strike Houthi positions

The American military will not strike positions of the Houthi rebel movement "Ansar Allah" in the near term, the newspaper The New York Times (NYT) claims, citing unnamed officials of the American administration.

According to the paper, U.S. President Donald Trump was initially opposed to strikes on the Houthis, but after a telephone conversation on September 17 with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Trump ordered the Pentagon to prepare for an attack. On September 20, the American leader once again changed his position. As sources told the publication, "there will be no U.S. airstrikes on the Houthis, at least for now."

Information about the reason for Trump's change of mind on this issue has not yet been provided. "The U.S. has a defense agreement with Saudi Arabia, and we will always defend our allies," the White House told the publication regarding this situation. At the same time, the newspaper points out, the cancellation of the attack came only shortly before its scheduled start — by that time commanders had already determined a list of targets, and troops were loading munitions into bombers.