Pepe Escobar, Zulfiqar Ali: MbS Called Trump Twice; Trump Said No; Saudi Oil Is Trapped; Saudi Has Nowhere To Run

by Transition Protocol(opens in new tab) [9-13-2026] Pepe Escobar(bio)(opens in new tab).

Pepe Escobar, past midnight in Moscow, on the week the map flipped. Saudi Arabia's Hormuz-bypass pipeline is shut after drone strikes. Yemen's Ansarallah took the entire west coast and the Bab al-Mandeb island of Mayun. MBS called Trump twice asking for strikes on the Houthis and was refused, as reported by Axios and Reuters. Pakistan says no military response was discussed under the Makkah pact. Monday, Iran meets Gulf states in Muscat on Hormuz — with Bahrain already out.

Also in this episode: BRICS New Delhi's unanimous line on sanctions; Pepe vs. the host on whether Iran can "declare victory"; and a sourced, not independently confirmed report from the host's contacts that Pakistan's Asim Munir is working a back channel between Iran and the Gulf at Iran's unofficial request. Pepe's "20 to 2" doctrine line and his account of UAE participation on Feb 28 are his reading and are not independently verified.