

STATE OF THE STRAITWeek Ending Monday, September 14, 2026 — 20:50 EDT
Saudi Arabia built the East-West Pipeline precisely so its crude would not be hostage to Hormuz. The attack on that pipeline, combined with Houthi advances toward Bab el-Mandeb, demonstrates the next stage of the contest: the battle is migrating from the chokepoint to the network designed to bypass the chokepoint.









