Israel can rescue bin Salman from the Iranian trap
Commentary by a former senior Mossad official arguing that Israel can offer Saudi Arabia an immediate strategic alliance against the combined threat of Iran and the Houthis, who are imposing a double chokehold on the kingdom's energy routes through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb. The author notes that Israel has built extensive intelligence against the Houthis since October 2023 and gained a foothold in Somaliland, and that this alliance is preferable to the hollow agreements with the US, Turkey, and Pakistan.
Commentary by Oded Eilam, a former senior Mossad official, arguing that Israel can offer Saudi Arabia a full and immediate strategic alliance against the combined threat of Iran and its Houthi proxies. The author describes a double chokehold on Saudi Arabia: Iran presses from the east through the Strait of Hormuz, and the Houthis from the west through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, after taking over the port of Mokha and advancing toward the islands controlling access to the strait. The author notes that bin Salman's appeal to President Trump for a direct American strike was rejected, and that the Mecca agreement for joint defense with Turkey and Pakistan yielded mainly papers and diplomatic positions. The author claims that Israel, which has built extensive intelligence against the Houthis since October 2023 and gained a foothold in Somaliland, can offer Saudi Arabia early warning, air defense, real-time intelligence, electronic warfare, launcher detection, protection of oil facilities and ports, securing shipping lanes, and active participation in curbing the Houthi threat. The author warns that Israel will pay a limited and temporary price, but the strategic prize is written and declared Israeli-Saudi normalization.