Al Majalla looks at how the US troop pullout will affect the US-Iran power struggle in the country

Ali al-Zaidi vowed to disarm the country's armed militias by 30 September, but could not. Iran critics worry that it will be much harder without US troops on the ground

A power vacuum left by the US toppling of Saddam's regime gave an opening for Iran to exploit. Today, its influence in Iraq extends to the political, security and economic spheres

Why 30 September should be understood less as a US exit from the Middle East than as the end of a particular model of American intervention

Understanding the Yemen-based militia now exerting control over international shipping in the Red Sea means understanding its roots, context, and regional alliances

Had the anti-Houthi units been working in coordination, their enemy would not have progressed so easily down Yemen's Red Sea coast, but infighting and a lack of leadership opened the door

The US views talks with the Houthis as a way to contain the scope of the conflict with Iran, while Tehran sees them as a means to translate military gains in the Red Sea into political gains

Just as Iran used Hezbollah to expand its influence in the Levant, it is now using the Houthis to give it leverage in Bab al-Mandab and the Red Sea amid its war with the US

The US is backing Saudi Arabia against the Yemeni rebel group without physically joining the war, reflecting a broader strategy of limiting US exposure

Backed by the IRGC, the Houthis are intensifying pressure around southwestern Taiz, northern Lahj and Marib, while pro-government forces are largely on the defence