Germany

Berlin, September 16, 2026. In Germany, the Gulf crisis is first and foremost measured at the pump. The postponement of the meeting scheduled for Monday between Iran and the Gulf States, which Oman had been counting on to regulate navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, and the advance of the Houthi rebels to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, have resulted in record prices. According to the FAZ, the liter of Super E10 reached 2.273 euros on Sunday, a record, with diesel rising to 2.404 euros; the barrel of Brent reached 108.65 dollars on Monday, up nearly 80% since the beginning of the year, and domestic fuel has never been more expensive since 2022, at 167.18 euros per 100 liters. The Saudi East-West pipeline, shut down as a precaution after drone attacks, is adding to the pressure on supply.

In the face of motorists' anger, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) has promised to take action: "For many people who need their car every day, the limit has been reached," he said in Berlin during an event organized by the BGA foreign trade association, assuring that a proposal would be presented "very soon" after consultation with the 16 states. He referred the question of abusive profits to the Federal Cartel Office, "equipped with the necessary powers" to monitor abuses. The FAZ notes that more than 120 political interventions have already been recorded in 22 European countries, and that high prices could be exploited by populist parties like the AfD.

On the diplomatic and security front, the Handelsblatt reports that the Salalah meeting was cancelled "at the request of Saudi Arabia", according to Tehran, due to the escalation in Yemen, where the Houthi rebels have taken the port of Moka and the island of Mayyoun. The Strait of Hormuz remains blocked by Iran since the US-Israeli attack at the end of February, and the US counter-blockade is preventing any reopening, while the route transported a fifth of the world's energy exports before the war. The FAZ notes that shipowners now fear a second closed strait after Bab el-Mandeb, where Mayyoun is located just three kilometers from the Yemeni coast. The Tagesschau quotes Martin Kröger, from the German shipowners' association, who says that the Red Sea has been under tension "for about three years"; Hapag-Lloyd has been diverting its ships since the end of 2023.