Saudi options in Yemen exhausted
The country's disintegration is matched by growing difficulties in envisioning a peace deal
Sometimes there's merit in simplicity. It highlights truths that are camouflaged by complexity. Hundreds of thousands of words have been written about the horrors of the war in Yemen, a bewildering cauldron of Yemeni, regional and international interests. Yet few can possibly understand why it's happening, let alone how it might end. The New Yorker magazine recently added a few more thousand words to the heap, detailing US links to the war and to Saudi Arabia, its instigator. In the course of the article, the writer quoted an Arab diplomat from the Saudi-led coalition. Asked about a possible leader to head a transition government, he replied: "Who would you hand Yemen to? Who would be part o
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
