Archives Conflict escalation - New Eastern Outlook

Amid the ongoing US–Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the emergence of a Saudi-Houthi confrontation has added a new layer of complexity to the Middle Eastern conflict, with the potential to widen and prolong the war while drawing additional regional actors into an increasingly broader confrontation.

The escalation of the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis marks the collapse of the old regional security system, in which traditional U.S. guarantees are losing their effectiveness, and real influence is shifting to actors capable of adapting to the new rules of the “gray zone” and informal diplomacy.

Even as Americans commemorate the pain of the September 11 attacks, at the same time, the Houthis of Yemen, under coordination along the “axis of resistance,” are taking absolute control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the entire Yemeni coast of the Red Sea.