Saudi Arabia shifts trade to Red Sea, mediates Lebanon

Saudi Arabia is undertaking a major strategic shift to secure its oil and commercial exports by prioritizing Red Sea routes, particularly through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, as an alternative to the now-closed Strait of Hormuz. Ports like Jeddah have become key logistics hubs, redirecting cargo from Europe and Asia for redistribution to Gulf states by land. In a parallel diplomatic move, Saudi envoy Prince Yazid bin Farhan arrived in Beirut to meet with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, part of a broader Saudi effort to contain regional fallout from the Iran war by proposing internal political arrangements conditioned on maintaining the current Lebanese government.