As renewed US strikes on Iran and retaliatory attacks on Gulf states and Jordan persist, The National's panel of editors and correspondents answers your questions about the escalation and its impact on the Gulf, oil markets and global trade routes.
Just moments before the session started, the Houthi rebels announced a “maritime ban” on Saudi Arabia in response to what they described as Riyadh's long-running blockade of Yemen. The move could disrupt shipping through the Red Sea, an increasingly important route for some Gulf energy exports seeking to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
The heightening violence and rhetoric have prompted analysts and policymakers to warn of the “escalatory trap” – a situation where neither side can back down.
Moderator Rory Reynolds, an assistant editor-in-chief at The National, is joined by security and policy editor Thomas Harding, Energy This Week author Jennifer Gnana, deputy business editor Aarti Nagraj and US bureau chief Thomas Watkins.
