Houthis say they struck two Saudi oil tankers on Wednesday
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
- Group says attacks enforce maritime blockade.
- Yanbu oil export route targeted.
- Hostilities with Saudi Arabia continue to escalate.
The Houthi movement claimed on Wednesday that its forces launched ballistic missile attacks against two Saudi oil tankers, targeting one vessel off the western port city of Yanbu in the northern Red Sea and another in the Gulf of Aden.
In a official statement published, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree confirmed that forces successfully targeted the Saudi oil tanker Wafa in the northern Red Sea off the coast of Yanbu using multiple ballistic missiles, achieving a direct hit.
Tankers reroute
The Iran-backed Yemeni movement vowed to ramp up operations in the northern Red Sea in response to Saudi oil tankers altering their navigation routes following prior attacks.
Saree stated that Houthi forces had successfully imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the southern Red Sea, forcing ships to redirect toward northern waters.
"Our forces confirm that their operations will continue and escalate in targeting Saudi oil tankers in the northern Red Sea to close all access points and prevent their passage," Saree said.
The ongoing escalation jeopardizes Riyadh's capability to bypass the Strait of Hormuz to export crude. The port of Yanbu serves as Saudi Arabia's primary energy export center along its western Red Sea coastline.
Impact on global shipping
The regional conflict between Iran and the United States has recently spilled over into a front that had remained relatively quiet since 2022 between the Tehran-backed Houthis and Saudi Arabia, which has militarily supported the Yemeni government against them since 2015.
Active hostilities between the two parties resumed on July 13.
Controlling the coastal city of Hudaydah, the Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi ports last month, claiming credit for multiple attacks on Saudi crude tankers and energy infrastructure inside the kingdom.
The blockade poses a broader threat to maritime navigation through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a vital corridor connecting Asia to Europe via the Suez Canal.
The route gained heightened economic importance after Iran closed the strategic Strait of Hormuz amid the broader Middle East war.
According to tracking data from Kpler, all seaborne Saudi crude exports departed from the port of Yanbu during April and May. In June, exports out of Yanbu accounted for 92% of all Saudi seaborne crude shipments.
