evidence: Every day, over three million barrels of oil travel from the Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea. Ships navigating this route travel westward through the Arabian Sea into the Gulf of Aden, then turn north, entering the Red Sea via the narrow pass at Bab el-Mandeb before proceeding on to the Suez Canal. The Socotra archipelago occupies a critical strategic position en route to Bab el-Mandeb, the most vulnerable chokepoint on this key energy transit corridor. Socotra's central location also makes it an ideal launch point for interdicting pirates and smugglers. [...] Ultimately, through de-escalation and mediation with the STC, the Saudi government is offering Hadi a face-saving compromise. At the request of the president-in-exile, Riyadh dispatched its own forces to the island, thereby symbolically upholding Hadi's claim to stewardship over Socotra as the legitimate government of a united Yemen. The move was also a victory for the STC, whose forces are entrenched on the island and will remain there. But while the Hadi government's dependence on Riyadh gave the Emiratis the upper hand, it is unlikely that the matter is settled. Socotra is still a prize, and Turkey and Qatar — as well as Iran — still have a vested interest in pushing out Emirati and Saudi influence.