September 22nd, 2026: Trump Calls Off Major Attack Against The Houthis & Chinese Ships Near Alaska

Mike Baker (0:12)

It's Tuesday, the 22nd of September. Welcome to The President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, President Trump reportedly came within minutes of ordering US strikes on Yemen's Houthis before calling the operation off, as their offensive toward the Bab el-Mandeb continues. Later in the show, Chinese research vessels are operating near Alaska, and the Coast Guard says that it's watching closely over concerns about what Beijing may be up to. Plus, well, the suspense is over. Wait, no, sorry, there was no suspense. To the surprise of absolutely no one, Putin's ruling party has tightened its grip on Russia's parliament, securing another commanding majority after three days of voting, which isn't hard to do when there's no opposition to speak of. And in today's Back of the Brief, Washington wants a new hotline of sorts with Beijing, this time for national security incidents involving artificial intelligence. But first, today's PDP spotlight.

President Trump reportedly came within minutes of opening another front in the Middle East this weekend. Targets had been selected by the Pentagon. American aircraft were being prepared for a wave of strikes against Yemen's Houthis. And according to a New York Times report cited by Reuters, bombs were already being loaded onto some of those aircraft when then suddenly President Trump called the operation off. The strikes never happened. But the fact that they came that close tells you just how quickly the situation in Yemen is changing and how concerned Saudi Arabia has become about a Houthi offensive now threatening one of the world's most important shipping routes. Does that sound familiar?

Saudi Arabia had been pressing Washington for help as Houthi forces made a rapid advance along Yemen's Red Sea coast and toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. That's the narrow waterway connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. Axios reports a Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, had first asked Trump for American military intervention roughly 10 days ago. Trump initially declined, as we've reported here on the PDB, although Washington agreed to continue providing intelligence and targeting assistance. The Saudis' own efforts to halt the offensive have been struggling, and a counterattack by Saudi-backed Yemen forces had reportedly been delayed several times. CENTCOM commander, Admiral Brad Cooper, then prepared strike options that were presented to the Defense Secretary over the weekend. President Trump considered them and ultimately then decided not to proceed.

Yemen's internationally recognized president, Rashad al-Aliimi, also spoke with Trump on Sunday and sought American support against the Houthis. Reuters reports that Trump discussed the situation with him, but made no pledge to send US forces into the fight.

A lightning offensive this month has brought the Iranian-backed Houthi forces into key areas around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and now they're working to seize the strategic high ground behind those coastal gains. Fighting today was focused around the Qaboub Mountains in Yemen's Taiz and Lahish provinces. The geography here is important, and the basic military logic is relatively simple. The Houthis took key positions along the coast. Now they want the mountains behind them. If they secure that high ground, well, it becomes much harder for Saudi-backed forces to push them back, and much easier for the Houthis to protect their new positions around the Red Sea, and as an aside, much easier to target and disrupt commercial shipping. As we've discussed here on the PDB, the Bab el-Mandeb is one of the world's critical maritime waterways. Saudi Arabia relies on its Western Red Sea infrastructure as an alternative route for oil exports when the Strait of Hormuz is threatened, and as you may have heard, the Strait of Hormuz is indeed threatened. It's under pressure because of the war, of course, with Iran. Now, an Iranian-backed force is at the same time as the Strait of Hormuz is under pressure, gaining leverage around the other major shipping route on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula. According to Axios, one concern in Washington was that US strikes could provoke the Houthis into expanding their campaign against shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb. A senior Houthi official now has told the Associated Press that the group has assured the Trump administration it does not intend to attack American vessels in the Red Sea and still considers its previous ceasefire with Washington to be in effect, which of course is what the Iranian regime wants their proxy group, the Houthis, to tell the US. At the same time, the Houthi official warned other countries against joining Saudi Arabia in the war, saying the Houthis were prepared to fight what he described as, quote, an international conflict if necessary.

The simplistic message crafted by the Iranian regime and their proxy, the Houthis, to Washington is essentially stay out. And this does not have to become America's war, which is moronic because it already is America's war. The Houthis are Iran's proxy, as I've already mentioned a few times. They're acting at the behest of the Iranian regime. There's no separation between the U.S.-Iran conflict and the current actions and situation involving the Houthis. The Houthi offensive is still underway as they try to consolidate control around a waterway critical to global trade. And this is part of the Iranian regime's continued aggressive response to the conflict with the US. Putting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait under increasing pressure and gaining further territory in Yemen puts the Iranian regime in a stronger position. If Saudi backed forces cannot halt the Houthi advance, which they seem incapable of doing on their own, President Trump inevitably will have to revisit the decision on whether to get involved against the Houthis. Staying out of the situation may sound attractive to those who worry about broadening the conflict, but the reality is staying out of the situation will very likely result in the Iranians expanding their leverage in the region through control of not only the Strait of Hormuz, but the Bab el-Mandeb Strait as well. And there is no way for the White House to then spin that as a win. The question is not really whether Washington is willing to broaden the conflict. Tehran has already broadened the conflict by utilizing the Houthis to do their bidding in Yemen and the Bab el-Mandeb by targeting the Saudis. That's why they've spent years building their proxy network. The question is whether Washington will play into the Iranian regime's strategy by staying out of the fray.