Trump accuses Houthis of seeking to raise oil prices

President Donald Trump criticized renewed Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia on October 13, accusing the group of acting at Iran’s behest and deliberately trying to raise oil prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections. He did not announce a decision to strike Houthi targets or otherwise commit the United States to military action. Trump made the allegations in a Truth Social post and in remarks to reporters. He said the Houthis had resumed attacks after a period of relative quiet following U.S. strikes in Yemen a year earlier. His claims about Iran directing the group and its motives for attacking were not independently established in the reports. Asked whether Washington had decided to strike Houthi targets, Trump did not directly answer. He said he might ask Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to support Saudi interests, adding that he believed Erdogan would do as he asked. The remarks left open whether the United States would take any action. Reports said Houthi attacks had hit Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 300, and that the airport had been closed.