The Breakfast Table · ages 9–11 · 2026-10-14
Yemen's War Reaches Closer to the US
President Trump says he is thinking about joining Saudi Arabia against the Houthis.
Yemen is a country at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Its government is fighting a rebel group called the Houthis, who get help from Iran. Saudi Arabia, Yemen's neighbour, backs the government. Last week the war spilled over the border into Saudi Arabia.
On Saturday the Houthis struck the main airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital. Saudi Arabia says at least 12 people died and at least 309 were hurt. The dead included four Saudis, two Bangladeshis and one American. The airport is still shut. Saudi Arabia says it faced a new barrage of drones and missiles on Monday.
Now other countries may join in. President Trump says he is thinking about it. The Houthis say the United States would face a swift and painful answer. The Saudi side wants to push the Houthis away from Yemen's Red Sea coast. The UN says more than 217,000 people have been forced from their homes on that coast.
Why it matters
A wider war around the Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandab Strait could draw in more countries.
THE RED SEA. Yemen's Red Sea coast faces Africa across the water.