Saudi Arabia’s dilemma as it tries to stay out of US-Iran war

In response, the Saudis pumped as much oil as possible (about five million barrels per day) via the east-west pipeline to export terminals at Yanbu, across the Red Sea.

From there it was loaded onto tankers heading south to the Arabian Sea and markets in Asia.

So far, so good.

But on July 13, the Saudis bombed Sanaa airport, just outside Yemen’s capital. The attack was claimed by Yemen’s Saudi-backed government, which said it wanted to prevent the Iranian plane from landing. In retaliation, the Houthis attacked regional Saudi airports in Abha and Jizan.

More worrying for Riyadh, the Houthis have begun attacking Saudi ships in the Red Sea, making it extremely dangerous for ships to pass through the narrow Bab Al Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea. This prevents the export of Saudi oil to Asia.

For seven years, Saudi Arabia tried and failed to bomb the Houthis into submission.

The war that ravaged Yemen was one of the greatest humanitarian disasters of our time, and its effects are still being felt.

In 2022, Saudi Arabia agreed an uneasy ceasefire with the Houthis and there were reports that it had paid off, but now Saudi Arabia, the richest country in the region, once again faces the threat of drone and missile attacks from its southern neighbor, as well as attacks from Iraq to the north.

None of this was foreseen in the Vision 2030 plans.