US President Donald Trump has said Washington may join Saudi strikes on Yemen’s Ansarullah movement, drawing a warning from Sanaa that it has many options to respond to any country that takes part. Asked by reporters on Saturday whether he had decided to join the strikes, Trump said: “We may. We’re going to look at it. We just found out about the recent attack. We will make a decision. We move very quickly,” Anadolu Agency reported.
Saudi strikes on Yemen: mixed signals from Trump
According to Tasnim News Agency, Trump described the Yemeni retaliatory attacks on Saudi airports as horrific, but also claimed the United States was still in contact with Ansarullah. Asked whether he intended to intervene, he said the Saudis were capable of defending themselves, adding that he planned to call Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Al Jazeera reported that Washington is debating both striking Ansarullah and restarting strikes on Iran.
The remarks followed Saturday’s attack on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, which killed 12 people and injured 309, according to Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation.
Read More: Yemeni Missile Lands Near Dammam Airport; Riyadh Toll at 12
Sanaa: “many options” to respond
Hizam al-Asad, a member of Ansarullah’s political bureau, warned that if the United States, Israel or any other state took part in attacking Yemen, Sanaa would have many options to respond, Tasnim reported. Yemen’s Foreign Ministry also said that any state helping the Saudi regime is a partner in its crimes against the Yemeni people.
Yemen’s Health Ministry says 91 Yemenis have been martyred and 168 injured since the Saudi escalation began on September 3, with women and children making up 60 percent of the victims. According to Al Masirah, a woman and a girl were martyred on Saturday in Saudi airstrikes and shelling in Taiz province. Sanaa describes its operations as a response to Saudi strikes on Sanaa airport and a years-long blockade.
Sources: Anadolu Agency, Tasnim News Agency, Al Jazeera, Al Masirah
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