Washington DC [US], July 28 : Clarifying the US stance on the ongoing fighting between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthis, President Donald Trump stated on Monday (local time) that Washington is "not involved with that" right now, but left the door open for future intervention "if there's a problem."
Speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said that the US has been "dealing with Saudi Arabia" currently amid the ongoing negotiations regarding the civil nuclear deal between the two nations.
"But, we may, you know, if there's a problem," he remarked.
When asked whether he has gotten any indication that Saudi Arabia will sign on to the Abraham Accords, as conditioned by him, Trump said, "We haven't talked about that."
Earlier, US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) reiterated that Saudi Arabia must join the Abraham Accords as a firm condition for finalising a bilateral civil nuclear arrangement, declaring that Riyadh no longer faces the threat of a dominant regional power in Iran to justify holding back.
The "Abraham Accords" are a series of US-brokered diplomatic pacts launched in 2020 that established formal political, economic, and security ties between Israel and several Arab nations, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan.
Speaking during an address on American nuclear innovation, Trump made his latest remarks the focal point of the proposed energy partnership, insisting that joining the regional normalisation agreement with Israel is "very important for the future of the Middle East".
"In order to do it, they have to be a member of the Abraham Accords... it's time now that they do it," Trump said. "They, and others, didn't want to do it because of the problem that they had with Iran. You don't have that problem anymore. You don't have that problem anymore, you don't have a great power there anymore. They were the bully of the Middle East. They're really not going to be that much of a bully anymore."
"At some point, they'll join," the President added.
The remarks come as Yemen's Houthi rebels on Monday claimed to have carried out drone strikes on what it described as "sensitive" Saudi Arabia crude oil supply and transport infrastructure, saying the operation was launched in response to what it called the"Saudi enemy's drone incursions into Yemeni airspace."
In a statement posted on Telegram, Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the group had targeted facilities linked to the transportation of crude oil from eastern Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea city of Yanbu.
"By the grace of God, a number of sensitive targets and points related to the supply and transport of crude oil from eastern Saudi Arabia to Yanbu were targeted by several drones in response to the Saudi enemy's drone incursions into Yemeni airspace," Saree said.
The Houthis also said the operation followed what they described as the downing of a Saudi Bayraktar Akinci drone over Yemen's Al-Jawf Governorate.
According to footage released by the group, the drone was shot down while it was allegedly carrying out "hostile operations" in the airspace over Al-Jawf on July 26.