Al-Monitor | Amir Handjani: Recent revelations about Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s private remarks on regional developments to former senior US officials confirm what many in Washington have been whispering the last few years: Many Saudi policies in the region — from the war in Yemen to confronting Iran — have been miserable failures. Even Saudi Arabia’s energy policy, which partially focused on punishing Iran and forcing it to retreat from its adventurism in the Middle East, has had the effect of forcing the kingdom into record budget deficits.


In the meantime, Iran continues to advance its agenda in Syria and Iraq. It should now be painfully obvious to the Saudi leadership that their tunnel vision on Iran has resulted in policies that backfire at home and abroad.


The Saudi military campaign in Yemen has been an unmitigated disaster. Riyadh’s claim that the Houthis were influenced by Iran to overthrow the leadership in Sanaa was always dubious. While Tehran doesn’t miss a chance to poke a finger in the eye of Riyadh, the Houthis are far from Iranian lackeys. They are leading a war for what they believe are their indigenous rights that have long been ignored by the Saudi-friendly government of Yemen. The war has cost Riyadh billions, claimed at least 10,000 lives and displaced 3 million more. In parallel with a cholera epidemic, most of Yemen is on the brink of famine.

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