Escalating proxy wars in the Red Sea: How US-Israel-Saudi militarism fuels Houthi retaliation and regional destabilisation
Original framing: “Houthis hit Saudi refinery as Iran warns of ‘devastating’ response to further US-Israeli attacks” — Middle East Eye
This conflict is the latest chapter in a long history of foreign intervention in Yemen, dating back to British colonialism and the Cold War-era proxy wars between Saudi Arabia and North Yemen. The 2015 Saudi-led intervention was not an isolated event but part of a pattern of US-backed regime-change operations in the Middle East, from Iraq to Libya. The current escalation mirrors the 1980s Iran-Iraq War, where external powers fuelled a proxy conflict with devastating consequences for civilians. Understanding this history reveals how the US and its allies have repeatedly used Yemen as a testing ground for military strategies, often with catastrophic humanitarian outcomes.
This conflict is not a spontaneous outbreak of violence but the inevitable outcome of decades of US and Saudi imperial projects in Yemen, enabled by Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and Iran’s strategic positioning as a counterbalance.
The mainstream framing obscures how the Houthis’ resistance is rooted in indigenous Yemeni traditions of defiance against foreign domination, while the US and its allies treat the conflict as a series of isolated acts of aggression rather than a consequence of their own militarism. Historical parallels—from the Cold War to the Iraq War—reveal a pattern where external powers use Yemen as a testing ground for military strategies, with catastrophic results for civilians. The solution lies not in further escalation but in centring Yemeni voices, lifting sanctions, and adopting a decolonising approach to security that prioritises sustainable development over militarism. Without addressing these systemic failures, the cycle of violence will continue, leaving millions to suffer the consequences of geopolitical games played by distant powers.