Saudi Arabia

“Trump is transactional, always looking for where the money is. He's a businessman; he admits it, and he's not ashamed of it; he's proud of it. The Gulf States understood that from the beginning."

The flight on Monday, which made international headlines after it prompted strikes on Sana'a, was eventually able to land in the Houthi-controlled Hodeidah International Airport.

Military agreements, port investments, and competing positions on Somalia, Somaliland, and Sudan are drawing the African and Arabian shores of the Red Sea into a single geopolitical arena.

The last several years have seen a de-escalation between Yemen's Houthis and Saudi Arabia. However, the Houthis appear intent on returning to the conflict.

There have been no reports of casualties or damage from the apparent missile strikes.

Iran long recognized the danger of normalization. When the UAE and Bahrain joined the Abraham Accords in 2020, Tehran condemned the deals as betrayal and warned normalizing states.

At the same time, the Yemeni Defense Ministry issued a statement warning that its "patience has run out," saying that it would respond to any Iranian and Houthi violations of Yemen’s airspace.

The war in Gaza and the collapse of momentum toward Israeli-Saudi normalization have forced Riyadh to reassess the route of the project.

Israel already has existing infrastructure with a pipeline between Eilat and Ashkelon, but infrastructure would be needed to connect Arab countries if they were willing.

BEHIND THE LINES: Turkey, Qatar, and Pakistan are emerging as a powerful bloc - an alliance openly opposed to Israel.