Washington, Sept. 21 -- Target lists had reportedly received approval and ordnance was being loaded onto warplanes before President Donald Trump aborted a planned strike against Houthi hideouts in Yemen, rejecting urgent appeals from ally Saudi Arabia, according to a report by The New York Times.

The US leader had previously hesitated over Saudi requests for American military intervention to curb the expanding influence of the Iranian proxy group near the Red Sea. Tensions peaked following a direct appeal from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia and a key ally in the conflict with Iran, who phoned Trump to press for immediate assistance against the advancing forces, as cited by US officials in the NYT rep...