The Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) said that the escalation of Yemeni attacks and their expansion toward Saudi oil interests are placing the Trump administration before a difficult equation between supporting Riyadh and avoiding opening a new front against Yemen, which experienced the severity of its might last year and was forced to sign an agreement with it.

The institute links the escalation in Yemen to the worsening energy crisis and rising oil prices, stressing that disrupting Saudi oil transport lines or its shipping routes for an extended period would push oil prices to high levels.

The Italian institute assesses that Washington is facing a growing dilemma, as military intervention to protect Saudi Arabia could expand the burdens of the war and raise fuel costs inside the United States, while American hesitation raises Gulf concerns over the reliability of the alliance.

ISPI expects the United States to lean toward containing the escalation diplomatically, in order to preserve the fragile calm and ease the mounting pressures on Riyadh.