Global Hotspots: Middle East Escalation by the Yemeni Houthis

On today’s episode, Milos, Eugene, and Jared discuss the implications of recent Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia, Chinese aid to Iran, and how both of these affect the wider U.S.-Iran conflict. Elsewhere, in the Russia-Ukraine war, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser Jared Kushner traveled to Ukraine and Russia to discuss peace efforts, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Canada to discuss increased defense cooperation. In the Indo-Pacific, Chinese traders are buying more U.S. soybeans in line with pledged commitments, while North Korea commissioned its second nuclear weapons-capable naval destroyer. In the Americas, the U.S. widened the scope of its tariffs and export restrictions on Canada, and in Germany, the far-right Alternative for Germany party won its first-ever state election.

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Marxist Arrow by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Photo:  Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities march during a rally to recruit more fighters, in Sanaa on September 10, 2026. The country relapsed into war in July after years of calm, drawn into the regional conflict triggered by the US-Israeli offensive against Iran that began at the end of February. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP via Getty Images)