COLUMN: Under the Skies of Riyadh, Amman, and Baghdad, Fear Returns with the Drones

A Claim Originating from the Red Sea

The Houthis in Yemen, allies of Iran, have claimed responsibility for an attack on transit points supplying the Saudi oil terminal in Yanbu on the Red Sea, according to Reuters. They cite alleged Saudi drone incursions into Yemen as the reason for the attack.

This cycle of tit-for-tat retaliation—a deadly game of ping-pong between the two shores of the same sea—is fraying the nerves of the local populations far more than it is altering the strategic course of the conflict.

Each side accuses the other of firing first, and in the meantime, it is always the same civilian populations who bear the brunt of the violence.

A Capital That Has Learned to Live Under Tension

Earlier reports indicated that Jordan had shot down two drones, though the authorities did not disclose their exact origin, according to Reuters. For Amman residents, this kind of terse announcement has, sadly, become almost routine since the start of this regional escalation.

I find this deeply sad: a generation of Jordanians is now growing up with the idea that drones shot down over their city are part of the background noise of their daily lives.

There is a chilling sense of resignation in the way certain populations have learned to accept these attacks as an imposed normality.

Iranian Kurdish Camps Targeted Again

Iraqi security sources have reported a series of drone strikes on camps housing Iranian Kurdish opposition forces in northern Iraq, according to Reuters. This region has already suffered heavy human losses since the start of this regional war.

It was specifically in Jordan and northern Iraq that four U.S. service members lost their lives during the two-week air campaign, according to Reuters. These four names represent American families who are mourning today.

I cannot write the number four—the number of soldiers killed—without thinking of the parents, spouses, and children who are receiving this news thousands of kilometers away from the theater of operations.

A Breather for Tehran, a Cause for Concern for Its Neighbors

Donald Trump abruptly suspended his campaign of airstrikes last weekend, bringing an end to thirteen consecutive nights of bombing, according to Reuters. But this American respite, far from calming the region, seems to have opened a window of opportunity that Tehran is immediately exploiting.

For civilians in Riyadh, Amman, and Baghdad, this diplomatic pause translates very concretely into new nights of fear, just as they were hoping for a lull after two weeks of intense anxiety.

This paradox deeply disturbs me: a pause intended in Washington to de-escalate the situation is, on the ground, resulting in new nights of fear for innocent civilians.

General Caine and the Admission of Logistical Limitations

According to Reuters, military officials had warned the president that available targets were running out. General Dan Caine had expressed concerns about the dwindling supply of U.S. air defense munitions—a rare admission of logistical vulnerability.

Behind these technical terms lies a human reality: soldiers who have been operating relentlessly for weeks in a theater of operations where each night brings its own share of tension and accumulated fatigue.

We sometimes forget that behind every ammunition statistic are exhausted soldiers living through this war day in and day out, far from their loved ones.

“It’s not in our DNA”

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei categorically rejected the idea that Iran is seeking to restart negotiations, stating that “it’s not in our DNA,” according to Reuters. This almost theatrical statement masks a reality that is more fragile than this rhetoric suggests.

Behind this display of pride, one senses a regime seeking to preserve its image after weeks of destructive strikes on its own territory, which have caused numerous casualties in Iran itself.

Tehran’s verbal
pride must never make us forget the very real losses suffered by Iranian civilians themselves during these strikes.

Six Ships Turned Back, One Incident Reported

According to Iranian state media cited by Reuters, Iran claims to have turned back six “violating vessels” on Monday morning in the Strait of Hormuz, with one vessel experiencing an incident. For sailors who traverse this area every day, these incidents represent a constant source of occupational stress.

Sailing in this region today means accepting uncertainty with every crossing, knowing that the next incident could occur without clear warning.

My thoughts go out to these merchant marine crews, often from poor countries, who take risks that few people on shore can truly imagine.

A Delegation Bringing Hope for a De-escalation

A high-level Omani delegation traveled to Tehran this weekend, and Baghaei described the talks as productive, according to Reuters. This may be one of the few signs of hope in a climate otherwise fraught with tension.

For the people of the region, every diplomatic initiative, no matter how modest, represents a glimmer of hope to cling to after weeks of uncertainty and fear.

Amid so much talk of war, I choose to pause for a moment to reflect on this small diplomatic gesture by Oman, however discreet it may be.

A 6.5% Drop That Hits Investment Portfolios

Brent crude fell by about 6.5% on Monday, according to Reuters—a decline that may seem like just a distant stock market figure. But for the region’s economies dependent on oil exports, this volatility translates into weakened public budgets and jobs at risk.

Behind every percentage point change in the price per barrel lie wages, suspended investments, and families that depend directly on the stability of this sector.

I refuse to treat the price of oil as just a line on a graph: it is the livelihood of millions of people in this region.

What safety net remains?

The suspension of the U.S. campaign leaves one question unanswered, according to Reuters: What leverage does Washington still have to protect its regional allies? For leaders in Riyadh, Amman, and Baghdad, this uncertainty directly affects their ability to reassure their own populations.

This relative isolation in the face of the Iranian threat fuels a sense of vulnerability that extends far beyond government circles, even into the conversations of ordinary families.

I feel genuine concern for these people, who once again find themselves held hostage by geopolitical balances over which they have absolutely no control.

Jordan and Northern Iraq: Lands of Sacrifice

The four American soldiers who died in Jordan and northern Iraq during this campaign deserve, in my view as a columnist, more than just a single line in the statistics of a news agency article—even if their identities were not specified in the available sources.

Every soldier who has died in this conflict represents an American family facing a sudden loss, far removed from the strategic rhetoric coming out of Washington or Tehran.

My thoughts go out to those American families who learn, on an ordinary morning, that their child or spouse will never return from that distant mission.

Three Countries, One Shared Sense of Weariness

What stands out most in this Monday’s sequence is the simultaneous nature of the alerts in three different countries. This convergence points to a regional collective weariness, where uncertainty becomes the only certainty shared by millions of civilians.

This weariness, which is difficult to quantify in official reports, deserves to be acknowledged: it shapes entire lives, far beyond the columns of military and economic figures.

I believe that this collective weariness, invisible in the statistics, may be the most lasting consequence of this war for the affected populations.

A Childhood Marked by Constant Alert

In these three countries affected on Monday, children are now growing up with the sound of air raid sirens as an integral part of their daily soundscape. No official statistics measure this psychological burden, but it exists, silently, in every exposed household.

This early normalization of fear—among children who have known nothing but this regional instability—deeply concerns me as a columnist attentive to the human consequences of these conflicts.

I often think of these children who have never known a sky free of worry; this may be the most unjust loss of all in this regional war.

Teams on Standby for Every Alert

In areas at risk of drone strikes, local medical teams stand ready for every alert, not knowing whether the call will come tonight or the next night. This constant vigilance takes a toll on professionals already exhausted by weeks of mounting regional tension.

Their work, rarely mentioned in news reports focused on strategic issues, nevertheless deserves to be recognized as one of the silent pillars of regional resilience in the face of this persistent instability.

These anonymous healthcare workers, ready to respond at any hour, embody for me a kind of courage that no military statistic will ever be able to measure.

What This Monday Should Remind Us

At the end of this day, during which three countries reported drone attacks, what remains are not just casualty figures or oil prices. They are lives held in suspense, evenings spent watching the sky, families praying that tomorrow will be calmer.

I conclude this column thinking of those anonymous civilians in Riyadh, Amman, and Baghdad, whose names will never appear in any news report, but whose fear is very real and documented by the facts I have recounted here.

Perhaps
that is the role of the columnist: to remind us that behind every intercepted drone, there is a human being who has been afraid, and that this fear deserves to be acknowledged.

Signed, Maxime Marquette, columnist