Those who just a few years ago claimed to impose their policies on North Africa, let alone the Gulf and the entire Middle East, have been destroyed on all fronts today. They resist war conditions with the support of state funds.
While they were trying to shape the world they dreamed of with what they earned from oil, today they woke up from the dream world with the bitter reality, but to no avail.
Just as they lost in Libya, they are now at a loss in the Persian Gulf. When the panic caused by the decrease in oil revenues is added to the snow falling on the mountains they trust, they seem to be trapped in a trap.
Alternative pipelines, which were opened as a last-ditch effort, are far from being a solution as of this week. The barrel of oil, which was around $70 in February, rose to $107-108 this weekend.
With the Houthis capturing the city of Mokha, the Red Sea coastline and the island of Meyyun, the initiative in Bab al-Mandeb passed completely into the hands of this group. They now have control of maritime trade in Bab al-Mandeb.
With the addition of the attack on the East-West Pipeline by Shiite groups in Iraq, Saudi Arabia's oil exports came to a complete halt.
Despite the fight against the Houthis that lasted more than 10 years and all the American-made aircraft, ammunition and systems, the Saudis could not win the victory they wanted.
Perhaps the place to invest was the regular army and the manpower to dispatch that army. Those who spend money on weapons are now thinking about this; Because these things happen not only with money and the latest technology, but also with mind and heart.
It was leaked to the American Press that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the major partner of the coalition (if it still exists), even asked Trump for an air strike on the Houthis.
However, Trump did not agree. Trump does not want to open a new front as the election approaches. It can't cover the open front anyway. He cannot convince anyone, not even his deputy, of his rhetoric that the war will end after the election.
So what do the Houthis want?
How realistic is the goal of seizing power in a country like Yemen, which has been struggling with civil war, migration and hunger for a long time?
Is being perceived as Iran's proxy power and giving the impression that they are taking action with a phone call in Tehran, a situation that this movement can digest?
If these questions are not answered correctly, it seems that the possibility of the war spreading to the western coast of the Gulf will increase day by day.
In other words, without a thorough examination of the reasons that led Yemen to division, any ceasefire with the Houthis will be hanging by a thread. For this reason, Trump seems to have turned down his old ally's request.
The Houthis, who defied Israel from a distance of 3 thousand kilometers against the genocide in Gaza, did not step back even under US bombardment. With the agreement finally made, mutual attacks stopped. Trump does not want this fire to flare up again.
Saudi Arabia also made a ceasefire 4 years ago, and although there were occasional conflicts that risked breaking it, it lasted until July. The bombing of the runway where the plane carrying Houthi leaders going to the funeral of Iranian religious leader Ali Khamenei, who died in the US attacks on the first day, broke the ceasefire. This situation benefited Iran, which was mourning the death of Khamenei.
When the Saudis insisted on the claim that there were unmanned aerial vehicle parts and ammunition loaded from Iran on the plane, the shots were fired. Iran, which was going through difficult times due to the naval blockade in Hormuz, seemed to have opened a new front with its proxy force.
Increasing the global cost is one of Iran's biggest goals in this war. The regime is trying to impose the burden of high cost of living, unemployment and inflation, which falls on the shoulders of ordinary Iranians at home, on all economies abroad.
When Hormuz was closed in the first month of the war, Saudi Arabia increased the amount of oil it pumped into the East-West Pipeline and, to some extent, ensured that Iran's damage to the world economies was limited.
Now, the oil that cannot come out of Bab-ül Mandeb cannot find a way through the Red Sea. The pipeline and some ports are also under threat of attack. This route, which costs $5 per barrel, also seems to be closed.
The Losers' Club list grows longer every day and the cost rises like yeast dough.
The answer to the question of how to get out of this crisis can perhaps be given by starting from the end. In other words, a ceasefire between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia and then a permanent peace.
Accepting that the Houthis are now a political and military power in the country, that is, in Yemen, is like everyone who has plans on Bab al-Mandap doing their calculations by 'accepting the Houthi reality'.
Are the Houthis asking for too much as the price of being ignored for years?
Looking at the list of losses before answering may help us look more sympathetically at the answer that it is not that many.
Of course, I understand the concern about opening space for non-state actors, but now the neighborhood is on fire and the fire is rapidly spreading from the neighborhood to the region.
