Rapid Houthi advances in Yemen pose massive strategic risks for Saudi Arabia in the Gulf

Filed 1h ago · Via The Conversation · The Buffoon Desk

THIS STORY IS SCORED

Mary Celeste

Kevin MacLeod · incompetech.com · CC BY 4.0

Photo: FakirNL · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Houthi rebels have unraveled the 2022 Yemen truce and seized territory near the Red Sea, prompting Saudi vessels to avoid the Bab el-Mandeb Strait for the longer, costlier route around Africa. Talks meant to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, set for Sept. 13 in Oman, were called off after attacks by Houthi and Iraqi groups aligned with Iran.

Analyst Kristian Coates Ulrichsen told The Conversation that a drone strike, reportedly launched from Iraq, temporarily closed a pumping station on Saudi's East-West Pipeline, leaving the kingdom facing threats from both north and south. Riyadh, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has little appetite for a new ground war and is instead assembling a coalition with Pakistan, Turkey, and possibly Egypt for maritime security.

The analysis notes perceptions in the Gulf that the U.S. launched its war with Iran without a 'Plan B' and has done little to protect Saudi Arabia since. With patience reportedly wearing thin in Riyadh, regional states may increasingly look to strike their own deals rather than wait on Washington.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

✒ FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

When two doors slam shut at once and the man who lit the fire won't pick up the phone, you learn fast who your real neighbors are. Riyadh spent years hoping a bigger ally would handle its exposed flank, and instead it's shopping for new partners like a farmer replacing a tractor that broke down in planting season. That's not an alliance falling apart quietly, that's one being renegotiated in public.

Source: Read the original at The Conversation → Scored: Mary Celeste · Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 4.0

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