--- title: "Iran’s Alliances Lie Broken and Gulf Faith in U.S. Fades 3 Years After Oct. 7" description: "Yemen’s Houthis, who took the port of Mocha in September, are the one part of Iran’s network that has gained ground." author: "rews desk" published: 2026-10-08T06:11:24Z modified: 2026-10-08T13:44:08Z url: https://rews.cc/a/iran-s-alliances-lie-broken-and-gulf-faith-in-u-s-fades-3-ye-23ae06 language: en tags: ["iran", "israel", "war", "economy", "security", "mideast"] publisher: "Rews (https://rews.cc)" --- # Iran’s Alliances Lie Broken and Gulf Faith in U.S. Fades 3 Years After Oct. 7 *Yemen’s Houthis, who took the port of Mocha in September, are the one part of Iran’s network that has gained ground.* By rews desk · October 8, 2026 · https://rews.cc/a/iran-s-alliances-lie-broken-and-gulf-faith-in-u-s-fades-3-ye-23ae06 ## In brief - Iran’s regional alliance network has been badly weakened in the three years since the Oct. 7 attacks - Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was assassinated in February, and Israel has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians in Gaza, Al Jazeera reported - Yemen’s Houthis captured the port of Mocha in September, tightening their hold on the Bab al-Mandeb strait - Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a mutual-defense pact in August as faith in U.S. protection fades - In April the IMF cut 2026 global growth to 3.1% from 3.3% and forecast an 8.6% contraction for Qatar Three years after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel, an anniversary that passed on Wednesday, Iran’s network of regional allies is badly weakened, Israel occupies most of Gaza and Gulf states are signing defense pacts without the United States. Many leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah have been killed, and Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was assassinated in February, [Simon Speakman Cordall wrote for Al Jazeera](https://aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/8/how-october-7-redrew-the-map-of-the-middle-east) on Thursday. Israel has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians in Gaza, Al Jazeera reported, a toll that has left the strip [counting its losses in percentages](https://rews.cc/a/three-years-on-gaza-measures-its-life-in-percentages-of-what-57b407). Israel moved fast into the gaps. With Hezbollah diminished, it invaded Lebanon in October 2024 and again in March of this year. It also took Syrian territory after Bashar al-Assad fell in 2024. Yemen’s Houthis are the exception. In September they pushed up the Red Sea coast and captured the port of Mocha and nearby islands, tightening their hold on the Bab al-Mandeb strait. That route carries trade and energy, and it counts for more now that the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted, a strain [already landing on Yemen’s shores](https://rews.cc/a/iran-s-war-washes-up-on-iraq-s-ledgers-and-yemen-s-shores-fadb37). The United States went to war with Iran this year, beginning on Feb. 28, [Al Jazeera reported in April](https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/4/14/imf-cuts-global-growth-forecast-during-hormuz-blockade). Tehran hit back at American allies in the Gulf. Its strikes reached Qatar’s Ras Laffan gas hub, the world’s largest liquefied natural gas export plant, as well as areas near Dubai’s airport and the oil zone at Fujairah. H.A. Hellyer of the Royal United Services Institute said American policy before Oct. 7 had rested on bringing Israel into normal relations with its Arab neighbors through the Abraham Accords. “Israel’s response to the October 7 attack ended that,” he said. Mr. Hellyer described “a loss of faith in the US as a singularly sufficient security guarantor.” Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a mutual-defense agreement in August, known as the Mecca security pact. Israel has also lost backing from traditional allies, including among the American public. Further normalization deals with Arab states look unlikely any time soon. It struck Doha, the Qatari capital, in 2025, and many governments in the region now regard Israel as the main source of instability. Sanam Vakil of Chatham House said the region “has always been multi-aligned. However, now it’s even more so.” She pointed to Turkey’s role in Syria and to China’s part in negotiations over the Iran war, with Beijing’s energy supplies at stake. Israel “has emerged as the revisionist power and Iran almost as the status quo power,” Ms. Vakil said. Israel dominates militarily, she said, but hasn’t shown that it can or will deliver stability. The February attacks didn’t bring down the government in Tehran. They gave it leverage. Iran sits on Hormuz, which carries about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas, and has reach into Bab al-Mandeb through the Houthis. Iran has put a price on a reopened Hormuz, [demanding $12 billion](https://rews.cc/a/iran-prices-a-reopened-hormuz-at-12bn-and-a-say-over-who-get-df16da). Western economies avoided a repeat of the 1970s oil shocks, even though this disruption is larger, because of emergency reserves, record American oil production and supplies from countries like Norway. The International Monetary Fund still [cut its 2026 global growth forecast](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/weo/issues/2026/04/14/world-economic-outlook-april-2026) in April to 3.1 percent, from 3.3 percent. The Gulf took the heavier blow. The fund lowered its forecast for Saudi Arabia to 3.1 percent growth, from 4.5 percent. Qatar went from expected growth of 6.1 percent to a projected contraction of 8.6 percent, a swing of 14.7 percentage points. Shir Hever, an Israeli political economist, said the West’s shrinking need for Gulf oil makes Israel more of a liability to Washington. Some in Israel expect the crises to push Gulf states closer to it. Mr. Hever called that “fairly unlikely,” since Israel was the main aggressor.