Trump Returns to the White House a Day Early as Houthis Strike Riyadh

US President Donald Trump cut short his weekend stay at Camp David by a day and returned to the White House on Saturday evening. He traveled aboard the presidential helicopter Marine One and landed at the Ellipse around 7 p.m. Washington local time (ET), according to a White House pool report filed by USA Today reporter Joey Garrison. The initial weekend guidance had the president at the Camp David residence through Sunday.

The early return came on the same day the Saudi-led coalition announced that the Iranian-backed Houthi forces had attempted to strike Riyadh with a ballistic missile. Saudi air defense intercepted and destroyed the missile early Saturday morning — the first direct strike on the Saudi capital since the latest escalation of fighting.

The Houthi rebels claimed, without presenting any evidence, that they had hit “sensitive” targets in Riyadh and set facilities of the oil giant Aramco on fire. According to The Wall Street Journal, the attack appeared to target aircraft fuel storage tanks at King Khalid International Airport, where witnesses saw a black column of smoke rising into the sky. The coalition also had to stop other attempted attacks that same day on Yanbu, Taif, Baysh and Farasan. No casualties were reported.

The White House has not said publicly whether President Trump’s early return is linked to the escalation of the situation in the Middle East, leaving the motive for the sudden schedule change unclear.

In parallel, the US State Department issued a security alert for American citizens in the Middle East, advising high vigilance and continuous monitoring of airport operations. The alert covers Iraq, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar, Lebanon, Kuwait and Jordan.

The attack on Riyadh comes at a moment of high tension: the US–Iran war has entered its sixth month, while Saudi Arabia has also been hit in recent days by other attacks — including drones aimed at Mecca and one death caused by the debris of an intercepted drone, according to AP news agency reports.

Sources: Daily Caller / Wall Street Journal / Washington Examiner / Reuters