Saudi Arabia Is Paying the Price*
Published in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
(Germany) on 13 October 2026
by Nikolas Busse (link to
original)
The Saudis wanted to withdraw from the civil war in Yemen. But Trump poked a strategic wasps’ nest.
One shouldn’t see the Houthis as a branch of the Iranian military that follows Tehran’s command. The Houthis are pursuing their own goals. They want to push out the internationally recognized government in Yemen and extend their Islamic rule across the entire country.
For that reason, they have not always acted in lockstep with Tehran in recent years. When Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump launched their attack on Iran in late February, the Houthis initially bided their time.
Still, the conflict in Yemen, which is hitting Saudi Arabia quite hard again, is closely linked to the utter mess of a war in Iran. As long as the fight over the Strait of Hormuz is undecided, Tehran will encourage its allies and provide support for them to disrupt the region’s second most important trade route through the Red Sea.
The Unresolved Saudi-Iranian Conflict
Underlying it all is the unresolved Saudi-Iranian conflict over dominance in the Gulf. It has been fought militarily in Yemen for years.
Trump, with a mixture of high-handedness and ignorance that many right-wing populists share, has poked this strategic wasps’ nest. Saudi Arabia is now paying the price; it had wanted to withdraw from the civil war in the neighboring country to focus on its economy.
Saudi foreign policy has, for years, relied on its alliance with the U.S. Trump has largely invalidated the alliance, which may shake up the entire Middle East.
*Editor’s note: This article is available in its original German with a paid subscription.
One shouldn’t see the Houthis as a branch of the Iranian military that follows Tehran’s command. The Houthis are pursuing their own goals. They want to push out the internationally recognized government in Yemen and extend their Islamic rule across the entire country.
For that reason, they have not always acted in lockstep with Tehran in recent years. When Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump launched their attack on Iran in late February, the Houthis initially bided their time.
Still, the conflict in Yemen, which is hitting Saudi Arabia quite hard again, is closely linked to the utter mess of a war in Iran. As long as the fight over the Strait of Hormuz is undecided, Tehran will encourage its allies and provide support for them to disrupt the region’s second most important trade route through the Red Sea.
The Unresolved Saudi-Iranian Conflict
Underlying it all is the unresolved Saudi-Iranian conflict over dominance in the Gulf. It has been fought militarily in Yemen for years.
Trump, with a mixture of high-handedness and ignorance that many right-wing populists share, has poked this strategic wasps’ nest. Saudi Arabia is now paying the price; it had wanted to withdraw from the civil war in the neighboring country to focus on its economy.
Saudi foreign policy has, for years, relied on its alliance with the U.S. Trump has largely invalidated the alliance, which may shake up the entire Middle East.
*Editor’s note: This article is available in its original German with a paid subscription.
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