Camp David War Meeting: Trump Team Maps Iran Conflict's Next Phase

Camp David meeting brings war cabinet together

Senior officials in the Trump administration gathered at Camp David on Friday for hours of closed-door talks about the war with Iran and the escalating fight between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. Sources familiar with the meeting confirmed the session to CBS News.

Those in the room included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine, according to the sources. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The news was first reported by Axios.

The war has dragged on for over seven months since it began with coordinated strikes by the United States and Israel on Feb. 28, and it has since pulled in proxy forces and allies across the Middle East. The administration has released few public details about its strategy or how it expects the conflict to end.

Hours before the Camp David session, President Trump told supporters at a campaign event in Mobile, Alabama, that he expects the war to wind down after the midterm elections. He said that when the war ends, "oil prices will come tumbling down." Trump also said the United States "could leave tomorrow" and it would take Iran years to rebuild from the damage inflicted, adding that Tehran "just wouldn't negotiate" and had "played their cards too tough."

Yemen fighting escalates as Saudi jets hit Sanaa

Yemen supplied the second subject of the Camp David talks, and the situation there worsened over the weekend. On Saturday, the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of launching dozens of airstrikes on the Yemeni capital Sanaa. The Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah TV reported that "Saudi enemy aircraft" carried out 26 strikes on the city. Two correspondents in Sanaa reported hearing loud explosions and seeing warplanes firing missiles over the capital, though there was no immediate word on casualties or targets.

The Houthis also claimed that Saudi Arabia bombed Sanaa on Thursday night, the first such attack on the capital since renewed fighting broke out in July. That fighting ended a four-year ceasefire and has grown more intense in recent weeks. The Houthis, who control most of northwest Yemen including Sanaa, are fighting Yemen's internationally recognized government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis seized all of Yemen's Red Sea coast and took control of the Bab el-Mandeb strait in a lightning offensive earlier in the war, according to CBS News. Al-Masirah also reported missile strikes Saturday on the telecommunications network in Saada, a Houthi stronghold in northwestern Yemen.

The conflict has begun to reach Saudi infrastructure directly. An AFP journalist in Riyadh reported seeing flames and smoke rising from a facility belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco on the outskirts of the capital on Saturday. The circumstances were not immediately clear. In recent weeks the Houthis have repeatedly targeted the kingdom's oil facilities, including strikes last month on what they called "sensitive sites" in Riyadh and Aramco facilities in the port city of Yanbu. In August they targeted an airport and an Aramco facility in the southern Najran region, and in July they announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia, striking tankers in the Red Sea.

Shipping lanes and diplomatic fallout

An oil tanker was struck by a projectile about four nautical miles east of Oman, near the Strait of Hormuz, at just after 1 a.m. local time on Saturday, according to the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations. The tanker, which was hugging the Omani coast along the U.S. route into and out of the strait, reported all crew members safe. Iran has repeatedly targeted vessels taking that route instead of the northern Iranian route, in retaliation for U.S. and Israeli attacks. A tanker was also targeted in the strait on Friday; a small fire broke out but was brought under control and no one was injured, according to the U.K. agency.

Secretary of State Rubio held a call on Friday with Jordan's King Abdullah II to discuss the Middle East conflicts, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said.

Separately, a sixth man arrested in connection with an incident at the U.S.-run RAF Fairford air base in Britain was released on bail, according to a statement from U.K. Counter Terrorism Policing. The 25-year-old, who holds dual U.K. and Iranian citizenship, was arrested in Westminster, London, on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts. He was found with five other men near the base last weekend with large oil drums and gasoline in their vehicle, though no explosives were found. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the BBC there were "strong indications" that Iran played a part in the incident. Iran denies involvement.

The Camp David session put the Iran war and the Yemen conflict on the same table, with the war now entering its eighth month and the midterms drawing closer. Read the full live coverage from CBS News here: CBS News live updates on the Iran war.