🇺🇸🇸🇦🇮🇱 The US has approved a possible $24.3bn sale of 48 F35s to Saudi Arabia Israel wanted the sale conditioned on Saudi normalisation Washington is moving it forward without that condition Saudi state capital pays Lockheed Martin and Pratt and Whitney capture the revenue Saudi Arabia gains advanced capabilities while becoming more dependent on the US MIC for software training maintenance and upgrades Israel is the party losing leverage Its exclusive position is diluted Normalisation is no longer the price of Saudi access Its qualitative military edge remains protected but it can no longer dictate the entire regional architecture Now add the Houthis US officials reportedly negotiated separately with them in Oman The Houthis reportedly offered protection to American Israeli and other commercial shipping while excluding Saudi vessels then claimed attacks on Riyadh and Aramco facilities On the surface this looks like Saudi Houthi confrontation But it could also fit a wider transition Houthi pressure gives Saudi Arabia the justification to acquire American weapons while reinforcing Riyadh’s argument that US protection is unreliable and alternatives are necessary That allows Saudi Arabia to buy capabilities from the US MIC today while hedging through China Pakistan Turkey domestic production regional diplomacy and eventually a settlement with the Houthis This does not prove Saudi Houthi coordination But their actions may be serving different parts of the same regional outcome Saudi Arabia builds military autonomy The Houthis pressure US power out of the region Washington transfers more capability to Riyadh Israel loses its exclusive role as America’s indispensable regional MIC and TIC node The apparent conflict may be concealing a more unified direction of travel A regional security structure that is less dependent on Israel and eventually less dependent on permanent US The F35 sale is not final But if it survives Israeli pressure without being conditioned on normalisation it is another sign that Israel is not taking control of the regional architecture It is losing its privileged position inside it Keep following the money