Laith Marouf, the Syrian-Palestinian journalist based in Lebanon and founder of Free Palestine TV, returns to the Kianistan Podcast for a blunt, wide-ranging conversation with host Tafhim Kiani. A contributor to Press TV and Al Mayadeen, Marouf opens by dismissing the UK’s newly passed law — effective 8 September 2026 — banning trade with bodies linked to West Bank settlements, calling it ‘theatrical’ and pointing out that Israel’s actual Ministry of Settlement remains untouched while individuals are singled out instead.

From there, the conversation turns to the rise of the far right in Europe, with Marouf arguing that parties like Reform UK and Germany’s AfD have been amplified by establishment ‘liberal’ media in much the same way US outlets helped elevate Trump. He is openly skeptical that Western electoral politics can produce meaningful change at all, arguing that real shifts in the region have historically required military defeat and economic collapse — pointing to Iran’s resistance and mounting signs of strain inside the US military, including reported resignations and unrest among senior officers, as the kind of pressure he believes actually moves outcomes.

The bulk of the episode is a detailed briefing on Yemen: Saudi Arabia opening a new front against Ansar Allah despite a previously stable Red Sea trade arrangement, weapons and fighters flowing to South Yemen militias to distract Ansar Allah from the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, Yemeni forces capturing key high ground overlooking the strait, and a breaking claim that the South Yemen government’s defense minister was ambushed by UAE-backed militias — a sign, Marouf argues, of renewed Saudi-UAE proxy rivalry playing out across Yemen, Somalia, and Sudan.

Marouf closes with a stark framing of the moment: a ‘zero-sum war’ since October 7, 2023, with only two possible endpoints in his view, and a detailed picture of a US Navy he describes as running critically low on Patriot and air-defense interceptors after repeated waves of strikes defending American positions in Jordan.

Key Topics Discussed

The UK’s West Bank Trade Ban: ‘Theatrical’ Politics

Marouf gives a sharply critical read of the UK’s new sanctions law.

• The law, effective 8 September 2026, bans trade with bodies linked to West Bank settlements and involves the UK, France, Canada, and nine other countries.
• Marouf calls the measure theatrical, arguing it targets individuals rather than the Israeli state itself.
• He notes Israel maintains an actual Ministry of Settlement that could be sanctioned directly but has not been.

The Far Right’s Rise and Skepticism of Western Elections

The conversation turns to European politics and the limits of electoral change.

• Marouf argues establishment ‘liberal’ media has amplified parties like Reform UK and the AfD, echoing how US media coverage helped elevate Trump.
• He is skeptical that over a century of Western electoral politics has produced genuine structural change.
• He argues real change requires military defeat and economic collapse, citing Iran’s resistance and strain inside the US military as more consequential pressure points.

Yemen: Saudi Arabia Opens a New Front

Much of the episode focuses on an escalating and, in Marouf’s view, strategically puzzling Saudi move against Yemen.

• Saudi Arabia has opened a new front against Ansar Allah (the Houthis) despite a previously stable Red Sea trade arrangement.
• Weapons and fighters are reportedly being sent to South Yemen militias to draw Ansar Allah’s attention away from the Bab-el-Mandeb strait.
• Yemeni forces have reportedly captured key mountain positions overlooking the strait, and death squads are said to be moving from Syria into Yemen to fight Ansar Allah.

A Breaking Development: Saudi-UAE Rivalry Resurfaces in Yemen

Marouf shares a fresh, still-developing claim during the conversation.

• He reports that the South Yemen government’s defense minister was ambushed by UAE-backed militias.
• This points, he argues, to a renewed Saudi-UAE proxy rivalry playing out inside Yemen.
• He links the UAE’s posture to lost oil and tourism revenue since the Iran war, and its growing dependence on port control in Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, plus reported involvement in unrest at Pakistan’s Gwadar port.

A ‘Zero-Sum War’: Framing the Post-October 7 Middle East

Marouf lays out his stark view of where the region’s central conflict is headed.

• He describes the period since October 7, 2023, as a zero-sum war with, in his view, only two real endpoints.
• He touches on the condition of Ahmad al-Julani’s Syria, describing a weakened force of roughly 70,000 fighters amid continued Israeli strikes on Idlib.
• He expresses hope for an eventual dissolution of Sykes-Picot borders and broader Arab and Muslim reunification.

Hormuz and a US Military Running Low on Interceptors

The episode closes on the state of the naval standoff in the Strait of Hormuz.

• Marouf describes US destroyers and a carrier group retreating after Iran fired missiles deliberately over the bow as a warning rather than to sink them.
• He claims roughly 70 PAC-3 Patriot missiles were fired defending a base in Jordan during the first wave of strikes, leaving none available for subsequent waves.
• He says the US is cannibalizing air-defense stockpiles from Japan, Korea, and Europe, and dismisses claims of Chinese frustration with Iran as Western wishful thinking.

Major Takeaways

• Laith Marouf dismisses the UK’s new West Bank trade sanctions law as theatrical, noting it targets individuals rather than Israel’s own Ministry of Settlement.
• He argues the rise of Europe’s far right has been fueled by establishment media amplification, similar to Trump’s rise in the US.
• Saudi Arabia has opened a new, strategically questionable front against Ansar Allah in Yemen, according to Marouf.
• He reports a breaking claim that South Yemen’s defense minister was ambushed by UAE-backed militias, pointing to renewed Saudi-UAE rivalry.
• Marouf frames the post-October 7 Middle East as a zero-sum war with only two possible endpoints.
• He describes the US military as critically low on Patriot interceptors in the Gulf, cannibalizing stockpiles from allies in Asia and Europe.

About Laith Marouf

Laith Marouf is a Syrian-Palestinian journalist based in Lebanon and the founder of Free Palestine TV. He is a regular contributor to Press TV and Al Mayadeen, and a returning guest on the Kianistan Podcast, known for his direct, unfiltered analysis of regional conflicts.

His reporting focuses on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the broader Levant, and the shifting alliances shaping the wider Middle East, drawing on sources and connections across the region’s resistance movements and media networks.

• Israeli-Palestinian conflict and regional resistance movements
• Yemen and Gulf security dynamics
• Syrian and Lebanese political affairs
• Middle East media and independent journalism

About Kianistan Podcast

The Kianistan Podcast, hosted by Tafhim Kiani, brings listeners direct, often unvarnished conversations with journalists and analysts working close to the ground in the Middle East, prioritizing candid analysis over diplomatic hedging.

Laith Marouf’s return to the show fits that mold precisely, offering a detailed, fast-moving briefing on Yemen, Hormuz, and the broader regional order that few outlets are willing to lay out this directly.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Laith Marouf say about the UK’s West Bank trade ban?

He calls it theatrical, arguing it targets individuals connected to settlements rather than Israel’s own Ministry of Settlement, which could be sanctioned directly but has not been.

What is happening in Yemen according to Marouf?

He describes Saudi Arabia opening a new front against Ansar Allah despite a previously stable Red Sea arrangement, with weapons and fighters flowing to South Yemen militias and a breaking claim that South Yemen’s defense minister was ambushed by UAE-backed militias.

What does Marouf mean by a ‘zero-sum war’?

He frames the period since October 7, 2023, as a conflict with only two possible endpoints in his view, leaving no room for a moderate outcome between Palestinian statehood and existential conflict with Israel.

What does Marouf say about US air-defense capacity in the Gulf?

He claims the US fired roughly 70 Patriot PAC-3 interceptors defending a base in Jordan during the first wave of strikes, leaving stockpiles depleted and forcing the US to draw down supplies from Japan, Korea, and Europe.

Conclusion

Laith Marouf’s return to the Kianistan Podcast delivers exactly the kind of unfiltered, ground-level analysis that has made him a recurring guest — from a sharp critique of Western sanctions theater to a detailed, fast-moving picture of the Saudi-UAE rivalry reigniting inside Yemen.

Whether or not every claim in this conversation is independently verifiable, it offers listeners a rare window into how the conflict looks from inside the region’s own resistance-aligned media ecosystem, at a moment when the Strait of Hormuz standoff shows no sign of easing.

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