From Hormuz to the American ballot boxes; the international press sees that the war has entered a phase governed more by the cost of energy than by political statements

Monitoring and Analysis | Strategic Media Department – BETH Agency
Supervision: Abdullah Al-Amirah

London | The Elections Enter the War

The Financial Times focused on the energy crisis moving to the heart of the U.S. midterm elections. The White House is discussing options to reduce diesel prices amid growing Republican concern over the impact of fuel prices on voters, while mediators continue trying to break the deadlock between Washington and Tehran. From this perspective, the war has become a domestic electoral issue, not merely a foreign confrontation.

New York | Iraq After America

The Wall Street Journal places the completion of the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq in a broader context: the test now shifts to Baghdad’s ability to control Iran-linked factions, while Washington rearranges its regional presence. In the oil market, the newspaper observes a gradual recovery in exports, but prices remain high because of the fragility of navigation and global inventories.

Paris | A Long Energy Crisis

Le Monde sees the continuing disruption in Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab as turning the energy crisis into a global one, with rising fuel prices beginning to become a political and economic problem in both Europe and the United States.

Moscow and Beijing | Waiting

Kommersant reflects the continuing disagreement over the conditions for reopening Hormuz, while China Daily focuses on the transmission of the American response through mediators rather than talk of a new confrontation.

Leading Editorials Around the World | September 30

Washington | A War That Should Be the Last

In the Wall Street Journal, an opinion article today raises a question that goes beyond the current confrontation: could the Iran war be America’s last major war in the Middle East? The central idea is that Washington needs to strengthen its military capability, but with greater caution in choosing the wars it enters.

London | The Voter Enters the War Room

The Financial Times focuses on the war’s impact inside the United States; the White House is discussing options related to diesel and energy as the midterm elections approach, amid Republican warnings about voter anger over high fuel prices. At the same time, mediators are moving to break the U.S.-Iranian deadlock.

Paris | Two Straits Squeeze the Economy

Le Monde had formulated one of the clearest editorials of this stage: Saudi Arabia and the global economy have become caught between Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab. The French reading considers that disrupting both waterways together raises the crisis from a regional level to a direct threat to global energy and trade.

Beijing | The Solution Lies in a New Security Architecture

The Chinese press continues to advance the idea that ending the crisis alone is not enough; what is needed is the rebuilding of the regional security system through dialogue, diplomacy, and a greater role for regional powers, while rejecting the continued dependence of Gulf security on the U.S.-Iranian confrontation.

Saudi Arabia in the Global Press

The most prominent image today is not Saudi Arabia as a party to the war, but Saudi Arabia as the key to energy and regional security, and a safety valve for the oil market in wartime.

The figures reinforce this image. Oil exports from the Middle East rose in September to their highest level since the start of the war, driven by increased Saudi and Emirati shipments. The Kingdom’s exports jumped from around 2.45 million barrels per day in August to approximately 5.4 million barrels per day in September, with a strong return of shipments from Ras Tanura.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia resumed oil loading from Yanbu after restarting the East-West Pipeline, with the possibility of raising flows through it to 3–4 million barrels per day, providing an additional route outside Hormuz and easing part of the market’s concerns.

The Financial Times saw the recovery in Gulf exports, particularly Saudi exports, together with tanker traffic through Hormuz rising to more than 80% of pre-war levels, as gradually reducing Iran’s ability to use the strait as a principal bargaining card.

The Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, focused on Riyadh’s ability to overcome bottlenecks in Hormuz and the Red Sea through alternative routes, linking the return of the East-West Pipeline to the oil market regaining part of its balance. In the American reading, the Kingdom thus appears as a safety valve for global energy, not merely a major producer.

In France, attention extends from energy to security; Le Monde highlighted France’s deployment of troops, radars, and defense systems to protect Yanbu, indicating that the protection of Saudi facilities has become directly linked to European energy security.

Houthi attacks on the Kingdom also remain prominent in international coverage, linking Saudi security to the security of Bab al-Mandab, the Red Sea, and trade and energy routes.

Conclusion:

The more Saudi Arabia expands its ability to keep oil flowing through Hormuz and outside it, the more the strait’s ability to disrupt the energy market declines, and the Kingdom’s importance in the equation of global stability grows.

The international press today reads the scene through three interconnected headlines: energy, the U.S. elections, and Saudi Arabia.

Hormuz affects the price of oil, the elections shape Washington’s pace, while Saudi Arabia is shifting from a major energy producer to a pillar of its security and the stability of its global flow.

The world does not yet see an end to the war, but it is watching its center gradually shift from the battlefield to energy, negotiations, and electoral calculations.