Oil prices rise as Houthi attacks hit Saudi tankers in Red Sea

Yemen’s Iran‑backed Houthi rebels announced on Thursday that they had attacked two Saudi‑flagged oil tankers transiting the Red Sea, marking the group’s first reported strike on a vessel since it declared a blockade of Saudi‑linked shipping through the Bab el‑Mandeb Strait earlier in the week. The Houthis said the attacks were retaliation for Saudi Arabia’s maritime blockade of Yemen and for a recent strike on Sanaa’s international airport, underscoring the militants’ expanding campaign against Saudi interests in the region.

The incidents add to mounting pressure on global shipping routes at a time when the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and Brent crude prices have risen to their highest level since May. Analysts Morgan Ayre and Charlotte Lam note that the Bab el‑Mandeb, a narrow chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, is critical for the flow of oil and container traffic; disruptions there can reverberate through worldwide supply chains and energy markets. The latest Houthi actions highlight the vulnerability of maritime commerce in the region and could further tighten market conditions if the conflict escalates.