US backs Saudi operation against Houthis as ceasefire collapses

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The United States has expressed support for Saudi Arabia's military operation against Yemen's Houthis, according to a US-based outlet citing American officials. The backing reportedly covers an unprecedented campaign authorized by President Donald Trump in coordination with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a development that U.S. officials warned could end a four-year Riyadh-Houthi ceasefire and widen the war between the United States and Iran. The escalation began when Saudi warplanes struck Sanaa International Airport, controlled by the Houthis, as a Mahan Air aircraft landed carrying Houthi leaders who had attended the funeral of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Houthi officials said Saudi jets failed to prevent the landing, and the aircraft later transported the Houthi delegation to Tehran. Saudi Arabia has long sought to block flights by Mahan Air, which U.S. sanctions designate as linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, citing concerns that such flights could be used to move Iranian weapons and military advisers into Yemen over the past decade. In response to the airport strike, the Houthis launched missile attacks on Saudi Arabia's Abha airport. No further details on the scope of the Saudi operation or U.S. military involvement were immediately available.