The Ansar Allah movement in Yemen, known as the Houthis, announced last November its intervention on behalf of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip targeting Israeli ships seeking to enter the Red Sea, and later on targeting any ship docking at an Israeli port. The US’s Operation Prosperity Guardian announced last December and the ensuing military action against the Houthis did not stop the group. In this lecture, Professor Laleh Khalili, author or Sinews of War and Trade: Shipping and Capitalism in the Arabian Peninsula (CUP 2021), delves into the politics of shipping and war in the Arabian Peninsula and offers a nuanced understanding of the context and significance of the current crisis in the region.