Donald Trump ended a weekend trip to the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland ahead of schedule, following a warning from the State Department that the security situation in the Middle East could “escalate rapidly.” According to the White House’s public schedule, Trump was meant to depart Camp David on Sunday but returned to Washington, D.C. a day early. A White House pool report states that he landed at the Ellipse south of the White House just before 8 p.m. The White House has not confirmed the reason for the shortened trip, though this came amid another escalation in the Middle East, with the Houthi rebels claiming responsibility for an attack on Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh.
Saturday also saw a new security and travel alert from the State Department concerning the region. Trump arrived at the Maryland complex late on Friday, and had no public appearances scheduled through Sunday. White House travel schedules can change last minute, as in May, when Trump cancelled a planned trip to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey amid a negotiations push by the U.S. and Iran.
But the latest shakeup followed another development in the Middle East, with Yemen’s Houthi rebels saying that they targeted Saudi Arabia with drones and ballistic missiles, and claiming credit for strikes on energy facilities as well as across the nation’s capital. Smoke and flames were reported near Riyadh airport, with the website FlightRadar24 showing numerous delays throughout Saturday. In a statement shared on Telegram, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the group had carried out “two successful military operations using a large number of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones,” which hit the Saudi capital and facilities operated by the state-owned energy giant Saudi Aramco.
"Iranian-supported Houthis have engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including civilian airports. This military conflict has the potential to escalate rapidly," the U.S. State Department said on Saturday.
Trump’s premature departure also followed an official announcement that a jet breached the airspace near Camp David. EDT,” the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) said on Saturday. DVIDS said that the NORAD jet dispensed flares to get the pilot’s attention, after which the aircraft was “safely escorted out of the area.” The situation in Saudi Arabia has triggered a tranche of new security alerts from the State Department and embassies across the region, including those in Lebanon, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates.
"This military conflict has the potential to escalate rapidly,” reads the advisory. As of Sunday, the State Department advises against travel to many Middle Eastern destinations: Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Daniel Orton and Cristina Diciu.
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