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Will the US Finally Patch Things Up With Saudi Arabia?
Houthi soldiers march during a funeral procession for Houthi fighters killed in recent fighting against government forces in Marib province, in Sanaa, Yemen February 17, 2021. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo
The British Ministry of Defense has announced that, “Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom confirm their commitment to a long-term partnership against the background of the deterioration of security in the Red Sea.”
It is a huge step for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), who, after years of harassment by the West — especially the US — may finally be finding allies in the fight against Iranian sponsorship of Houthi terrorists.
Here’s a quick review.
Iran had been harassing shipping in the Persian Gulf — east of Saudi Arabia — since the 1980s. Iranian fast attack vessels charged US Navy ships; their drones buzzed American fighter jets; and their lasers were directed at American helicopters operating at sea. These efforts culminated in the capture of 10 American sailors in 2016. The harassment largely stopped in 2018.
Yet at the same time, Iran was sailing warships in the Red Sea — west of Saudi Arabia. Iran’s former Revolutionary Guards commander, Qassem Soleimani, declared in 2018, “The Red Sea, which was secure, is no longer secure with the American presence.”
The encirclement of Saudi Arabia by Iran did not seem to move the US. Also in 2018, the US Senate “voted to end American military assistance for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen,” wrote The New York Times in an article that never mentioned Iran.
Senators were angry with MBS. “We have been led into this civil war in Yemen, half a world away, into a conflict in which few Americans that I know can articulate what American national security interest is at stake,” said one senator. President Joe Biden piled on, calling MBS a “pariah,” and Biden removed the Houthis from the US terror-sponsor list in 2021.
Senators often aren’t strategic thinkers — nor are presidents, actually — but a map might have helped.
Iran, which has no border on the Red Sea, was able to encircle Saudi Arabia by virtue of its base in the heel of the Saudi boot, i.e., in Yemen. Its hostile presence in the Red Sea also undermined Egypt, Jordan, and Israel. It allowed access to overland routes through Somalia, Eritrea, and Sudan — and directly into Egypt — for the purpose of arming rebels along the coast and the militias that Egypt fought in the Sinai desert (with Israel’s help).
The Red Sea is the only Israeli outlet to the Gulf of Aden and then the Arabian Sea, the route of Israel’s trade with India and Asia. It is Jordan’s only sea outlet, and the Eilat-Aqaba Free Trade Zone is a major source of trade revenue for Amman. For Egypt and the rest of the world, it is the route to and from the Suez Canal — which is essential for international trade, including oil trade.
Therefore, Iran stoked the Houthi insurrection in Yemen, providing, among other things, long-range missiles that were fired into Riyadh. US warships have intercepted a large number of Iranian weapons shipments intended for Houthi militias.
Other shipments have been intercepted coming overland from Oman. While President Biden delisted the Houthis, the UN Security Council renewed its sanctions on them in November, but allowed sanctions on Iran to expire.
If security and freedom of navigation for Red Sea allies are not sufficient reasons for the United States to be concerned with Iran, consider this: Camp Lemonnier, the US naval base, sits directly opposite Yemen, off Djibouti. Camp Lemonnier is operated by the Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) and the US Africa Command (USAFRICOM) — and is the only permanent US military base in Africa.
The map, again. The countries north of the Mediterranean Sea are European, all of which except Bosnia are NATO members. Facing them, along the North African coast, are Sunni Muslim countries, all of which except Libya are partners in NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue. The arrangement helps keep the Mediterranean stable and free for shipping.
One way to make North Africa less stable is to make the row of countries underneath it less stable. Chad, Mali, Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan, and Niger all are targets of instability seekers, including Iran. They are, to be sure, as much targets of Sunni jihad as they are of Iran, but Iran’s massive infusion of funds supports Sunni Hamas, al Qaeda, ISIS, Boko Haram, al Shabab, and others.
Instability, chaos, anti-Americanism, anti-Israelism, anti-Westernism, and anti-Christianity are what Iran seeks — and they are what Sunni jihadists seek.
Now the West appears suddenly to have remembered the importance of freedom of navigation and Saudi Arabia may have found allies. If they can make the connection to the sponsor of Houthi terror — Iran — an alliance may be able to right the ship, so to speak. But we’re a long way from it.
The author is Senior Director of the Jewish Policy Center. A different version of this article was previously published by The Daily Caller.
The post Will the US Finally Patch Things Up With Saudi Arabia? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.