Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea on Thursday, igniting fires on both vessels and threatening to close a vital shipping lane that carries 12% of the world's trade. The assault marks a dangerous escalation that could disrupt global commerce and widen the Iran war just as economies struggle with oil supply constraints.
The Houthis declared they've closed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Saudi-linked shipping, retaliating against the kingdom's blockade on Yemen and a recent attack on Sanaa's international airport. Saudi's state-run news agency and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center confirmed the tanker fire. No casualties were reported.
A Chokepoint Under Threat
Bab el-Mandeb, at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. A fourth of global container traffic passes through the narrows. The strait's become even more critical since the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran war severely limited Persian Gulf shipping.
More than 7 million barrels of petroleum a day transited Bab el-Mandeb in June, compared to around 4 million before the Iran war, according to Allison Minor, director of the Atlantic Council's Project for Middle East Integration. Saudi Arabia's been exporting some 4 million barrels of oil daily through its Red Sea port of Yanbu, blunting the impact of the Strait of Hormuz closure.
Three Houthi officials told The Associated Press the group's planned for months how to disrupt shipping in the strait. Those plans include naval mines, explosive-laden boats, drones and helicopters to allow fighters to board ships, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk to media. They said vessels would first be warned not to cross designated boundaries. If ships ignore the warnings, the Houthis would resort to military action.
Workers and Consumers Bear the Cost
The Houthis said they'd only stop vessels connected to Saudi Arabia or going in and out of its Red Sea ports. But during a similar blockade announced against Israel over the war in Gaza, the rebels attacked many vessels with little or no connection to that conflict. The threat alone could keep international shippers from using the route.
International shippers could reroute around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, as they did at the height of the war in Gaza. But that means adding one or two weeks to voyages and raising costs that ultimately get passed to consumers and workers in industries dependent on timely deliveries.
"If Bab el-Mandeb comes under pressure at the same time as shipping in the Gulf, you have disruption around two of the world's most important maritime routes at once," Clionadh Raleigh, founder of ACLED, a conflict monitoring service, said.
In the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's shown that even sporadic attacks on ships can be enough to effectively close a critical waterway by driving up risks and insurance premiums. The Houthis attacked over 100 vessels at the height of the war in Gaza, before a punishing U.S. and Israeli air campaign put an end to the attacks in early 2025.
Diplomatic Response Falls Short
Asked about the attack on the Saudi tanker Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered tepid remarks. "I hope they'll stop. They shouldn't really do that," he said during a regional summit in the Philippines. "I think the Houthis, frankly, got snookered into this thing by the Iranians. And they were smart to stay out of it, and they should stay out of it and they should stop."
Saudi Arabia's military says it'll keep Bab el-Mandeb open. "All Houthi threats against transiting vessels will be dealt with swiftly and firmly, as such threats are a blatant violation of international law and fall under acts of maritime piracy," said Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, a Saudi military spokesperson.
The Houthis also run the risk of reigniting the war with Saudi Arabia and its allies in Yemen, where major fighting ended with a truce 4 years ago.
Yemen's Humanitarian Crisis Deepens
Yemen's civil war began 12 years ago when the rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen, forcing the government into exile. Saudi Arabia led an international coalition fighting the rebels and also imposed an air and sea blockade on Houthi-held parts of Yemen that eased in recent years.
The Houthis say Saudi Arabia struck the airport in Sanaa earlier this month in an attempt to stop a flight carrying Houthi leaders back from Iran, where they'd attended the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The plane landed safely at another airport. The Houthis then launched missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia's Abha International Airport in the most significant confrontation in years.
The Houthis say closing Bab el-Mandeb to Saudi traffic aims to break the coalition's blockade. Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group, said the threat to Saudi Arabia also benefits the Houthis' ally, Iran, at a time when the U.S. has resumed daily airstrikes. "From Iran's perspective, opening additional pressure points across the region gives it more leverage," Nagi said. "The Houthis provide Tehran with influence over one of the world's most important maritime chokepoints."
Saudi Arabia could still get crude to market without using Bab el-Mandeb by shipping up to 2.5 million barrels a day across the Red Sea to Egypt, whose SUMED pipeline can carry it to the Mediterranean. It could also ship 1 million barrels a day through the Suez Canal.
Why This Matters:
The threatened closure of Bab el-Mandeb places working families and vulnerable economies at risk of another supply shock just as they're recovering from previous disruptions. When shipping costs rise, it's ordinary people who pay more for food, fuel, and essential goods. The conflict reveals how regional wars and inadequate diplomatic frameworks leave civilian populations bearing the burden of geopolitical rivalries. With 12% of world trade and a fourth of global container traffic at stake, the international community's failure to broker lasting peace in Yemen now threatens to compound the economic hardship already inflicted by the Iran war. The escalation underscores the urgent need for multilateral action to protect maritime commerce and address the root causes of Yemen's 12-year civil war, including the humanitarian crisis created by blockades that have devastated civilian infrastructure and livelihoods.