How Houthi gains and pipeline attacks are threatening global shipping routes and energy prices
Mohammed Ghobari, Eman Abouhassira and Yasmine Ghania
Updated ,first published
Aden/Dubai: Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis reached the strategic island of Perim in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, four Yemeni government sources said, moving to tighten their grip on a vital global shipping route in the widening Middle East war.
Meanwhile, the vital East-West oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia, which has helped relieve the logjam in the Strait of Hormuz, was shut down by a drone attack coming from Iraq, Saudi officials said. This put further pressure on Gulf oil flows at a time when diplomatic efforts to ease war have stalled.
If the Houthis can gain control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz, their backer Iran could gain a critical advantage in its war with the US, reducing supplies through a second major corridor and further raising oil prices.
The New York Times reported that since the war began at the end of February, at least 22 sailors had been killed in the Middle East. “These waters aren’t safe,” said Michelle Wiese Bockmann, an analyst at Windward, a maritime intelligence company.
The Houthi attacks could represent a dangerous escalation. Sources said Saudi Arabia has asked Washington for military help at a time when higher fuel prices during the war have tarnished US President Donald Trump and his Republican Party politically ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Two sources from the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised Yemeni government said its forces had pulled out of Perim and that the Houthis had also taken the mainland Red Sea coastal town of Dhubab, which faces the island.
The war began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran six months ago. Hormuz, conduit for about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade, was effectively closed. Since then, Saudi Arabia – the world’s largest oil exporter and a close US ally – has relied on the Red Sea route. Gulf states, industry sources and Trump have discussed pipeline expansion as one possible workaround.
Existing pipeline capacity was shut down temporarily as a precaution after several attacks on the East-West pipeline in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh and Medina regions, state media reported, citing a source at the Saudi energy ministry.
Both Baghdad and Riyadh said the attack had originated in Iraq, where Iranian-backed militias operate. Iraq dismissed a military commander on Saturday in response to the attack.
The commander had led operations in Maysan province, according to a statement by the Iraqi prime minister’s office. Maysan province, which borders Iran in southeastern Iraq, has long been regarded as an area where Iran-backed Shi’ite militias maintain influence.
Saudi Arabia has opted against retaliation so far following a request from the Iraqi prime minister, the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement. The kingdom reserves the right to “take all measures necessary” to protect its interests, the statement said. Iraq’s government condemned attacks.
The 1200-kilometre pipeline is the key alternative route for Saudi oil to reach global markets, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. It has been shipping 4 million to 5 million barrels per day in recent months, amounting to 4 per cent to 5 per cent of global supply, according to ship tracking companies and analysts.
The attack resulted in some injuries and damage that was being assessed, the Saudi foreign ministry said without detailing the impact on exports.
Saudi crude supply fell to the lowest levels in more than three decades, the International Energy Agency said on Friday, partly due to attacks on ships transiting Bab el-Mandeb by Houthi-linked groups.
Oil prices dipped on Friday after surging a day earlier, but Bloomberg reported that Brent futures were trading at about $US105 a barrel on speculation about the impact of the latest violence on energy supplies in the region.
The Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said maritime navigation remained safe for all shipping except Saudi vessels subject to a previously announced ban.
Yemeni government forces indicated they would try to retake areas captured by the Houthis – mountain fighters who withstood years of devastating Saudi airstrikes during Yemen’s civil war – in their lightning offensive this week along the Red Sea coastline.
They announced they would deploy weapons and aircraft to eliminate any movement of the “terrorist” Houthi militias in strategic areas, including the road leading to the coastal city of Mokha, which the militant group captured on Thursday along with the Red Sea islands of Hanish.
Reuters has reported that the dramatic Houthi advance down Yemen’s Red Sea coast came with direct guidance from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. Iran told the Houthis last week to escalate their attacks on Saudi Arabia and promised more funding, weapons and senior officers to help them do so, two Iranian sources said.
Iran describes the Houthis as an ally but publicly denies giving them military direction, saying they are “not a proxy”.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Trump at least twice on Thursday to request US military help in fighting the Houthis, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday, confirming an earlier report by Axios.
Washington told Riyadh it was not willing to take direct military action for now, but would help with intelligence sharing and targeting, the two sources said.
The White House did not address a Reuters question on any phone calls between the two leaders, but a senior administration official speaking on the condition of anonymity said Washington was in continuous dialogue with Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government.
Reuters
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