The War with Iran Reshapes Middle East Alliances – Affecting Israel Too

The war with Iran is reshaping the map of alliances in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia and the Houthis have entered a renewed conflict, leading to a warming of relations between Riyadh and the Emirates. Prof. Yossi Man, an expert on the Middle East, assesses that the rapprochement may enable a united front of Gulf states against Iran, with implications for Israel.

The war with Iran is reshaping the map of alliances in the Middle East, with direct effects on Israel. Prof. Yossi Man, an expert on the Middle East and Gulf states, explains in an interview with 'Davar' that the renewed flare-up between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis is leading to a warming of relations between Riyadh and the Emirates, after a long period of estrangement. According to him, Saudi Arabia adopted a 'naive' approach throughout the war, but now a sobering is pushing it to rebuild ties with the United Arab Emirates, which is also fighting the Houthis. The rapprochement may enable the formation of a united coalition of Gulf states against Iran. Man also addresses the war's impact on trade and energy routes, including the development of the IMEC corridor linking India to Europe via the Emirates and Israel. However, he warns that the Hamas starvation campaign has damaged the discourse on normalization with Saudi Arabia, and internal challenges in the kingdom make rapprochement with Israel difficult.