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Tankers hit in Red Sea
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis claimed they attacked two Saudi oil tankers transiting the Red Sea, naming Encelia and Layla, and said they targeted them for “violation of the blockade decision issued by the armed forces.”
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the attacks were carried out “using a number of ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones”, and led to fires on the ships.
The Saudi Press Agency reported that the Encelia had been hit and said an official source at Saudi Arabia’s Transport General Authority reported that all crew members were safe.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre said it had received reports that a tanker was struck and that the master reported “being struck by an unknown projectile which has caused a fire onboard that the crew are currently fighting,” as the Houthis’ blockade on Saudi Arabia had been imposed on July 20.
Threats, prices, and response
President Donald Trump said the U.S. would hold Iran responsible for future Houthis attacks after the group claimed it struck two Saudi oil tankers, writing on social media that “the U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran.”
AP reported that the U.S. military announced Thursday it was conducting the 13th night of strikes against Iran as clashes escalated over shipping routes, with U.S. Central Command saying the latest attacks are designed to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters.”
Oil markets reacted to the shipping risk, with Al-Monitor saying Brent crude rose above $98 per barrel on Thursday after the strike news and that by 8:37 a.m. Eastern Time Brent was at $99.12, up 5.37% from the previous day.
Al-Monitor also said the Houthis’ alleged attacks were the first known assaults on Saudi ships since the Houthis imposed their blockade, and it reported that Brent crude futures were approaching $100 per barrel as the conflict neared its fifth month.
What’s at stake next
The Houthis’ claimed blockade is tied to the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint, which Al Jazeera described as connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and said is just 29km (18 miles) wide at its narrowest point, limiting traffic to two channels for inbound and outbound vessels using the Suez Canal.
Al Jazeera reported that in 2024 about 4.1 billion barrels of crude oil and refined petroleum products passed through the strait—about 5 percent of the global total—and said that with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed since Israel and the U.S. launched their war on Iran in late February, shutting down Bab al-Mandeb as well could block 25 percent of the world’s oil and gas supply.
AP said the Houthis threatened to shut down another key trade route as the world economy reeled from Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and it reported that the price of Brent crude spiked more than 6% Thursday to about $100 a barrel.
In parallel, Al-Monitor said Saudi Arabia increased its reliance on Red Sea routes through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait due to near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and it reported that about 4.5 million barrels per day of Yanbu’s oil exports are currently at risk of blockade by the Houthis.
