Mohammed bin Salman called Donald Trump twice on Thursday and asked for American strikes on Houthi positions. He was refused. Washington offered intelligence sharing and targeting support, and sent the CENTCOM commander to the kingdom for coordination talks rather than a strike package.

By Friday the request was academic. The Houthis took Mokha, pushed south through Dhubab, and put fighters on Mayyun, the volcanic island sitting in the channel that carries traffic through the strait. Yemeni government forces withdrew. Saudi aircraft bombed the airport at Mokha after the city had already fallen, which says most of what needs saying about the sequencing.