Iran talks collapse, Houthis advance, and Saudi hedging
Iran left Doha talks yesterday; Saudi Arabia sends a message to Tehran as the Houthis push toward Aden.
Iran talks collapse, Houthis advance, and Saudi hedging — The Iranian team left the mediation talks in Doha yesterday after three days of intensive discussions, according to a Maariv report[^1]. The departure came as US President Donald Trump told Channel 12 that he is in no hurry to renew the war with Iran, saying, "We are crippling their economy"[^2]. The contrast between Trump's preference for economic pressure and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's push to resume the war creates a dilemma that now hangs over the region[^1][^2]. While the Doha channel went quiet, Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman met in Tehran with Iranian leadership, joined by representatives from Turkey and Pakistan—members of the "Mecca Alliance"[^3]. The Kan report frames the Saudi visit as a message: Riyadh will not allow attacks from its territory[^3]. The timing is not coincidental: the Houthi group in Yemen announced on Monday that it carried out drone attacks targeting Dammam Airport in Saudi Arabia, and a separate Kan report notes that Houthi forces are now about 80 km from Aden, the first time since 2015 they have advanced so close to the city[^4][^5]. Saudi Arabia is working to prevent harm to its territory in the event of renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran, but the Houthi strikes complicate that effort[^3][^4]. A former Mossad senior official, Oded Eilam, told Walla that Israel may surprise Iran with a pager-style operation, adding that "surprises, twists, and unexpected moves are the bread and butter of Israeli strategy" and that "Israel has cards up its sleeve"[^6]. Meanwhile, Tucker Carlson warned of a nuclear attack on Mount Khamosh in central Iran, where Israeli intelligence claims the regime has resumed uranium enrichment, saying World War III would be inevitable[^7]. The question is whether the diplomatic track in Doha can be revived, or whether the battlefield—from the Strait of Hormuz to Aden to the Iranian mountains—will dictate the next phase. A night of domestic violence and a caregiver's trap — A 43-year-old woman was found dead in Petah Tikva on Sunday night, allegedly beaten with an axe by her husband in front of their four children.