Ryan Hall

NEW | There are multiple indications that fighting between the US and Iran & its partners may expand imminently. A CNN analyst reported that Trump deliberated and reviewed strike options against the Houthis in a meeting at Camp David yesterday. Trump notably returned to Washington, DC, a day earlier than scheduled. The US Department of State separately issued a security alert for the Middle East yesterday, citing the "potential for unforeseen escalation." Iranian military institutions have also signaled that they are anticipating an imminent escalation. Iran's highest operational headquarters claimed that it received intelligence that the United States plans to resume striking Iran. The regime has also reportedly placed its military forces on high alert in anticipation of US strikes. Iran's highest operational HQ warned that Iran would attack US bases & interests in the region if the US attacks Iran. The HQ warned regional countries that Iran will not exercise "restraint or decency" if they support US strikes on Iran, likely to try to pressure these countries to discourage Trump from approving any kind of attack on Iran. These developments come after the Houthis attacked Riyadh, the Saudi capital, for the first time. The attack was part of the ongoing Houthi campaign to maximize political and economic costs on Saudi Arabia to force the kingdom to acquiesce to Houthi demands. Saudi Arabia has previously urged the US to conduct strikes against the Houthis to undermine the Houthi campaign against Saudi Arabia. The Houthis also continue to fight Yemeni-government aligned forces in Yemen as part of this campaign. Saudi media, citing unspecified military and local sources, claimed today that Yemeni government-aligned forces seized Jabal Naman in Taiz Governorate. ISW-CTP previously assessed that Houthi efforts to surround the city of Taiz support the Houthis' near-term economic objectives and long-term objective of controlling all of Yemen. (1/2)