Houthis: Saudi offensive tries to recruit Syria, while the US prepares strikes on Iran Syria is weighing the deployment of up to 20,000 troops to Yemen to fight the Houthis. The plan was discussed at a high-level official meeting in Riyadh between Syria’s transitional president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The main details of this new geopolitical move point to the mobilization of two regular Syrian army divisions, including the 90th and 84th, to support the counteroffensive of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), the internationally recognized Yemeni government. The role of the troops would range from offensive missions on Yemeni soil to territorial defense support along the Saudi border. Damascus has denied it, but the talks are in fact underway. Just as I reported that Turkish and Pakistani troops are involved in a broad support arrangement that goes beyond logistics and equipment operation, Syrian forces have received a similar proposal if they are unwilling to take on a formal role. Everything has a price, of course, and Saudi Arabia has already been providing substantial financial aid packages to Syria for many months to back Ahmed al-Sharaa’s new government. Damascus signaling a willingness to send soldiers to Yemen is read as a strategic nod that would bring a significant increase in those transfers and in Saudi investment on Syrian soil. As I wrote days ago, the region is preparing for a large-scale conflict that is only beginning with the current Yemeni front. This multinational force will pull Iran into a deeper involvement in defense of its Yemeni allies. To contain that, the Pentagon has finished and structured plans for a potential resumption of large-scale strikes against Iran. US Central Command (CENTCOM) has received directives to leave combat options fully ready, waiting only for final authorization from President Donald Trump. The Pentagon is also accelerating the deployment of a third carrier strike group (the USS Theodore Roosevelt) to join those already in the region (USS George H.W. Bush and USS George Washington) before the end of November. More than 50,000 troops and a dozen warships remain positioned at maximum readiness. If Trump signs the strike order, the new campaign aims at extensive bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities, energy infrastructure, and refineries. But I am still not convinced this attack will happen. It looks more like an attempt to intimidate Iran into not sending massive aid to the Houthis in the face of a Saudi offensive that is only beginning, and that is already running into a Houthi force that is aggressive and scoring gains on the ground, despite massive bombardment. Read more global21.substack.com/p/hout…

Eritrea is invading Ethiopia to create a buffer zone. Yes, Eritrea has launched a military incursion into Ethiopia. Local residents confirmed that uniformed Eritrean soldiers, equipped with heavy weapons, crossed the border and pushed deep into Tigray, moving through major towns such as Adigrat. Witnesses told the BBC and Al Jazeera they saw dozens of uniformed Eritrean troops advancing along strategic roads in Tigray, positioning themselves exactly in the areas where the Ethiopian army has been fighting the new coalition of armed rebels. The Ethiopian army has already responded, striking Eritrean military convoys with drones. Experts from the international conflict-monitoring project ACLED confirmed that Ethiopia’s federal army carried out drone strikes against vehicles carrying Eritrean soldiers in the locality of Guada, after they crossed the border through Zelambessa heading south. Residents of Edaga Hamus also reported witnessing these airstrikes against the Eritrean troops. In a separate line of action, weapons and ammunition seizures are one of the central pillars of Ethiopia’s accusations against Eritrea. Ethiopia’s federal police publicly confirmed the interception of thousands of rounds of ammunition and weapons shipments allegedly sent clandestinely by the Eritrean government, according to reports from Ethiopian authorities. The trend is for the fighting to intensify, and for the two countries to be at war within weeks. Eritrea knows Ethiopian troops are performing well against the rebel alliance. It has ordered Tigrayan forces to pull back into more protected areas while mobilizing its own army to support the rebels. Eritrea is convinced that a victory over the rebels would put Ethiopia on the path to an invasion aimed at securing its own access to the sea.