At least one person died and eight were wounded at a civilian airport in Dammam on Wednesday, when Yemen’s Houthis struck targets across Saudi Arabia. A drone attack on a Saudi oil field killed two more people. The strikes pushed oil prices higher on Thursday and prompted Washington to order some diplomats and their families to leave the Kingdom.
Brent crude futures climbed $1.29, or 1.2%, to $110.11 a barrel at 00:34 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 97 cents, or 1%, to $98.12. Markets reacted to the news. Ordinary people at an airport and workers at an oil field paid the price behind those numbers.
Civilians in the Crosshairs
The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh issued a security alert warning of possible further Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia after what it described as recent deadly strikes, including one at Riyadh’s airport. The State Department was preparing to order some personnel and family members to leave embassies across the Gulf region, three U.S. officials said, citing the possibility of renewed hostilities, particularly with the Houthis. Two officials said the departures could include all personnel and their families from the U.S. Mission to Saudi Arabia.
U.S. officials told Reuters that the State Department also planned to withdraw family members from a number of other U.S. missions in the region.
For diplomats’ families, that means packed bags and interrupted school years. Those who can’t leave face the next security alert without an evacuation order.
Iran’s state media added to the unease. The official IRNA news agency reported that “a few minutes ago, the sound of several explosions was heard in the Karpan area of Sirik, in Hormozgan Province,” adding that “local sources have not yet disclosed the nature of these explosions.” Sirik overlooks the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian media said the blasts’ origin was unknown.
A Rerouted Economy, a Rising Price
Energy data tracks how exports have adjusted under pressure. Middle East crude exports excluding Iran averaged 24.6 million barrels per day in the week to Oct. 18, according to energy intelligence firm Kpler. Before the war, the average was 23.3 million. “The volume recovered. The route did not,” Kpler said.
Kpler’s September analysis found that 40% of regional crude exports bypassed Hormuz, up from 17% before the war. About 9.9 million barrels per day, or 60%, still crossed the strait in September. Another 23% was loaded outside it, mainly at Fujairah in the UAE, while 17% traveled through Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea export network.
Saudi Arabia sent more oil through its 1,201-kilometer East-West Pipeline to Yanbu on the Red Sea. The UAE increased use of its 406-kilometer Habshan–Fujairah pipeline. Producers without similar routes remained dependent on the strait.
A tanker shuttle system has also expanded. Ships load inside the Gulf, cross Hormuz with their automatic identification systems switched off, then transfer cargo near Fujairah or Sohar. According to Kpler, more than 70% of the crude that crossed Hormuz in August changed tankers offshore.
The Costs Behind the Recovery
The International Energy Agency gave a more cautious September estimate, putting Gulf crude exports at 13.9 million barrels per day, more than 75% of pre-war levels. Gulf News said the IEA stressed that higher volumes hadn’t come without cost. Iranian attacks on shipping and the threat of escalation pushed up freight rates, war-risk insurance premiums and other expenses. The Financial Times reported that tanker charter rates and war-risk premiums had surged, making alternative routes expensive and vulnerable to further attacks.
Citing Kpler data, Reuters reported at least 18 attacks on shipping over the past two weeks. LSEG analysts warned that Iran was targeting tankers far beyond Hormuz, reaching into the Gulf of Oman. The U.S. blockade continued to constrain Iranian exports.
Diplomacy Stalls
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told the Financial Times that Iran was fully prepared to defend itself. President Masoud Pezeshkian told state media the United States couldn’t expect dialogue while blockading and threatening Iran. Neither statement suggests anyone is preparing a negotiating table.
The price pressure reaches American homes. The Trump administration offered to loan up to nearly a third of the 1-million-barrel U.S. emergency heating oil reserve, the Department of Energy said, seeking to contain prices that had surged on diesel shortages due to the wars in Iran and Ukraine.
On a separate track, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg. The Kremlin said Putin had agreed to resume U.S.-mediated peace talks with Ukraine as soon as next month. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he supported the talks.
Why This Matters: The numbers show an energy system that has found ways around a war, but the people paying for it appear in the same reporting: the dead at Dammam airport, oil-field workers killed by a drone, and diplomatic families ordered out. Rerouted tankers and higher insurance premiums spread the cost to consumers far from the Gulf. Tehran and Washington’s public positions leave little sign of a diplomatic exit, while possible renewed hostilities with the Houthis keep civilians across the region exposed. The Putin-Witkoff meeting shows talks can restart on other fronts. In the Gulf, this reporting describes no comparable channel.
- oil prices
- strait of hormuz
- middle east oil exports
- shipping disruptions
- houthi attacks
- saudi arabia
- iran
- oil pipelines