As an ill wind blows across the Gulf, the Houthis finally do the Saudis some good

As the Israeli-US war against Iran rages across the Middle East, is it possible that Saudi Arabia is getting off more lightly? Public reporting strongly suggests that it is, which begs the question why.

The evidence is pretty clear: so far, Iranian strikes on Saudi Arabia have been fewer in number and, at least in the first phase, less intense than those on some other Gulf neighbours, particularly the UAE and. to a lesser extent, Qatar and Kuwait.

The BBC reported early on in the conflict that Saudi Arabia and Oman, two countries that have long hosted US and Western military forces, have both escaped a lot more lightly than the other four Gulf Arab states.