Something big brewing? Trump abruptly leaves Camp David, returns to White House

West Asia tensions soar; Trump cuts short Camp David stay

US President Donald Trump cut short his weekend stay at Camp David and returned to the White House on Saturday, a day earlier than scheduled, as tensions escalated across West Asia.The administration did not explain why Trump changed his plans and returned to the White House on Saturday instead of Sunday as previously scheduled.The move came as the US state department and several American diplomatic missions across West Asia issued security alerts, warning of the “potential for unforeseen escalation” in the region.“This military conflict has the potential to escalate rapidly,” the State department warning said, urging Americans to reconsider travel to and through the region.The latest US warnings followed a reported escalation involving Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.

Saudi Arabia said the group launched a ballistic missile towards Riyadh early Saturday, while the Houthis said they had targeted “sensitive sites”, adding to concerns that the wider conflict could spread further across the region.Against this backdrop, Iran conveyed seven conditions to Washington for restarting negotiations to end the conflict. Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei told Al Jazeera that Qatar had passed the conditions to Washington and that Tehran was awaiting Trump’s response.

Rezaei publicly outlined three of the demands: an end to the war on all fronts, the release of Iran’s frozen funds and an end to the US naval blockade. He did not publicly detail the remaining four conditions.Rezaei also warned that Iran was prepared for a “decisive war” if Washington rejected its demands, saying Trump’s threats would not achieve results. He said Tehran remained in contact with Qatar as a mediator and was awaiting a response from the US.