The Betrayers, a new novel by the Canadian Jewish writer David Bezmozgis (Natasha, The Free World), centers on the story of Baruch Kotler, a Soviet dissident turned Israeli politician whose political career has suddenly ground to a halt after the revelation of an affair. Disgraced, he decamps with his mistress to Crimea, where, through a plot twist, the two end up living in a cramped house with the man who had betrayed Kotler to the KGB and thereby consigned him to thirteen years in the Gulag. The Betrayers, writes Boris Fishman, is masterfully crafted, possesses a distinctive and elegant style, and is even fun to read. What’s more, it manages to overcome one of the great challenges of literature with a political theme:

The Betrayers offers a lesson for anyone who has taken for granted the Lit 101 notion that politics is an awkward presence in literature: in strictly subordinating its many political observations to the demands of character—the author never allows himself to show up and polemicize—it achieves a seamlessness that marks it as the most persuasive “political” novel in years. And in creating antagonists who have a lot of catching up to do, Bezmozgis neatly avoids that ponderous feeling that takes hold whenever an author has to dispense exposition.

For more than a year, the Iran-backed Houthis have been launching drones and missiles at ships traversing the Red Sea, as well as at Israeli territory, in support of Hamas. This development has drastically curtailed shipping through the Suez Canal and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, driving up trade prices. This week, the Trump administration began an extensive bombing campaign against the Houthis in an effort to reopen that crucial waterway. Burcu Ozcelik highlights another benefit of this action:

The administration has a broader geopolitical agenda—one that includes countering China’s economic leverage, particularly Beijing’s reliance on Iranian oil. By targeting the Houthis, the United States is not only safeguarding vital shipping lanes but also exerting pressure on the Iran-China energy nexus, a key component of Beijing’s strategic posture in the region.

China was the primary destination for up to 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports in 2024, underscoring the deepening economic ties between Beijing and Tehran despite U.S. sanctions. By helping fill Iranian coffers, China aids Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in financing proxies like the Houthis. Since October of last year, notable U.S. Treasury announcements have revealed covert links between China and the Houthis.

Striking the Houthis could trigger broader repercussions—not least by disrupting the flow of Iranian oil to China. While difficult to confirm, it is conceivable and has been reported, that the Houthis may have received financial or other forms of compensation from China (such as Chinese-made military components) in exchange for allowing freedom of passage for China-affiliated vessels in the Red Sea.