September 14, 2026Share to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeSeptember 14, 2026Trump lets Saudi Arabia fend for itself as the Houthis disrupt Red Sea oil flow | AnalysisTwo phone calls Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman made to President Donald Trump on Thursday offered a glimpse of the strategic shift taking shape across the Middle East. According to Axios, bin Salman sought Trump's help after Houthi rebels seized the Mokha port near Hodeidah. Trump said no. He agreed to provide intelligence – assistance the United States was already supplying – but made clear that there would be no direct American military involvement.For Trump, this front – where the Houthis threaten roughly 12 percent of global trade – is a local problem, not an American one. Unlike the war with Iran, which has become entangled with the battle for the U.S. midterm elections, the Bab el-Mandeb strait belongs to the "locals."Houthi forces march through Yemen's Sanaa, last week. Credit: STR / APHouthi forces march through Yemen's Sanaa, last week. Credit: STR / APThis is hardly the first time Saudi Arabia has discovered that its decades-old alliance with Washington is caught in a web of competing interests. It happened in 2019, after Houthi attacks struck Saudi oil facilities three times, causing heavy damage. It happened again when Saudi Arabia came under attack in the most recent war. And it is happening now, as the flow of Saudi oil through a vital trade route was cut off over the weekend.Trump's distinction between the Persian Gulf front and the Red Sea completes the pincer movement through which Iran is encircling the world's trade routes, creating a system of interconnected pressure points. In this system, the Houthis are making clear that they are not merely an Iranian proxy, but full partners in building an insatiable architecture of regional control.Read the full articleEgypt rejects Houthi proposal for direct talks on Red Sea shippingEgyptian authorities have rejected a Houthi proposal to establish a direct channel of communication with the Suez Canal Authority over the safety and freedom of navigation in the Bab el-Mandeb strait and Red Sea, the Qatari newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported Monday.According to the report, Suez Canal Authority Chairman Osama Rabiee firmly rejected the proposal, fearing that direct contacts could amount to formal recognition or international legitimization of the Houthis.The proposal was conveyed through the International Chamber of Shipping, a London-based industry body. A senior Egyptian official said the government had referred the matter to its security agencies, which are conducting unofficial contacts with parties in Yemen in an effort to prevent further attacks on vessels and ensure the flow of maritime trade without granting the Houthis diplomatic status.IDF denies ‘NAZA’ documentary allegations that Gaza strike planned for 500 civilian deathsThe Israeli military on Sunday denied a claim in the new documentary "NAZA" that it had planned and approved a strike in Gaza during the war against Hamas in which 500 civilian deaths were anticipated, calling the allegation "completely false."A promotional clip for the film, which examines Israel's use of artificial intelligence in targeting decisions and its role in civilian deaths, shows a purported Israeli intelligence soldier being asked about the largest number of expected civilian deaths ever approved for a strike in Gaza."I don't know how many were killed, because they never check this, but there was once an approval for 500," the whistleblower says.In response to an X post containing the clip, the Israel Defense Forces said it has never planned, approved or carried out such a strike."The IDF has never planned, approved, or carried out a strike in Gaza in which 500 civilians or anything near that number were anticipated to be killed," the military said. "Nor was any credible claim raised throughout the war suggesting that an IDF strike had caused anything near that number of fatalities."This is completely false.