Think of war-torn Yemen and cheer China-brokered deal between Saudi and Iran

A protest against the Yemen war in August 2020. Photo: Felton Davis. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Sections of the Western media have taken the symbolism of Riyadh and Tehran burying the hatchet in Beijing (on March 10) as a sharp poke in America’s eye and that of the US-led world order. But this may be a rather narrow and self-serving view. It would be healthy to at least partially see Iran and Saudi Arabia’s stated intention to re-establish diplomatic relations through a humanitarian lens.

Does the new agreement, mediated by China, mean there is finally, hope for Yemen, torn apart by civil war for the best part of a decade?

Yemen has been seen as so hopeless for so very long. It was in 2014 that Houthi insurgents — Shiite rebels with links to Iran — took control of Yemen’s capital and largest city, Sana’a. In March 2015, a coalition of Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia launched a campaign of economic isolation and airstrikes against the…