Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Security Bloc Raises Stakes With Israel

Israel’s security establishment has reportedly dubbed the Turkish-led grouping a “Sunni ring of fire,” casting it as a successor to Iran’s network of Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iraqi militias. Egypt’s parliament voted days before Turkey’s expected ratification to allow President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to defend Saudi territory.

Riyadh’s concern is the vulnerability of its oil exports. The East-West pipeline carries crude to Yanbu, which loaded about 2.5 million barrels per day in October. From there, cargoes pass through the Suez Canal or the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The Houthis seized more of Yemen’s Red Sea coast in September and are advancing toward the strait, according to the source article.

Israel has spent months urging Washington to treat Turkey, the bloc’s anchor, as an adversary, the article says. Its pressure campaign has included an airstrike in Syria, an air-defense sale to Greece, recognition of the Armenian genocide, an embassy on the Gulf of Aden and a campaign on American television against Turkey’s participation in the F-35 program.

The Gulf of Aden is another point of tension. The article describes two camps competing for influence over access to the Red Sea: Israel and the UAE in Somaliland on one side, and Turkey on the other. It presents the Red Sea route as Saudi Arabia’s alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.