On October 12, 2026, President Donald Trump began considering US military support for Saudi Arabia after deadly Houthi attacks on Riyadh. Reporting has since established that the Houthis crossed into Saudi Arabia weeks ago and took the Bab al-Mandab Strait with no US reaction, and that the economics of attack have shifted, with a non-state group able to strike Saudi infrastructure at a fraction of the cost to defend it. Bloomberg Surveillance's Roule says direct US strikes on Houthi targets are increasingly likely. Whether Washington commits to direct action, and how far it would go, remains open.