Yemen’s Houthi movement carried out missile and drone strikes against two Saudi-flagged oil tankers, the Encelia and Layla, in the Red Sea on Wednesday, according to a statement by the group’s military spokesman Yahya Saree. The attacks, which Saree said caused fires on both vessels, came two days after the Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia and warned international shipping to avoid Saudi ports. Ship-tracking data from Kpler and MarineTraffic showed at least seven tankers making sharp U-turns in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden between Monday and Wednesday, with several signalling the Suez Canal as their new destination. The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre confirmed a vessel had been hit southwest of the Saudi port of Al Shuqaiq, and the EU naval force Aspides advised merchant ships linked to Israeli, US or Saudi interests to avoid the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden until the threat level decreases.

Houthi officials, speaking to international news agencies on condition of anonymity, described the blockade as retaliation for what they termed a years-long Saudi siege on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and for recent airstrikes on Sanaa airport that they attributed to the kingdom. Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry condemned the blockade as a “false accusation” and stated Riyadh would take all necessary measures to protect its vessels under international law. Viewed from Tehran, the Houthi escalation aligns with Iran’s broader pressure campaign: two senior Iranian sources told Reuters last week that Iran had asked the Houthis to stand ready to close the Bab al-Mandeb Strait should the US target Iranian power infrastructure. In Washington, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the US would “take care of business” if Houthi threats materialised, while the US Central Command announced a twelfth consecutive night of airstrikes on Iran.

The immediate consequence has been a sharp rise in crude prices, with Brent climbing above $94 per barrel and WTI surpassing $87, as markets priced in the risk of a second major maritime chokepoint being severely disrupted. The Bab al-Mandeb Strait, through which some 6.2 million barrels of oil per day transited in June according to Kpler, has become the primary export route for Saudi crude since the near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran. Shipbroker Braemar noted that the Houthi embargo “raises serious questions about the viability of eastbound routes from Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port”, the outlet for its east-west pipeline. Analysts in London and New Delhi warn that even the threat of attacks is sufficient to drive up war-risk insurance premiums and divert traffic around the Cape of Good Hope, adding weeks to voyage times and straining global supply chains already tested by the five-month-old US-Iran war.

The Houthi move opens a new front in a conflict that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February. The group had largely stayed out of the fighting until last week, when it launched missiles at Saudi Arabia after accusing the kingdom of striking Sanaa airport. The Houthis previously disrupted Red Sea shipping for months during the 2023-2024 Gaza war, demonstrating a capacity to withstand sustained air campaigns. A multinational naval coalition, the Combined Maritime Forces, reported on Monday that the Houthis had deployed missiles and drones near Bab al-Mandeb and were ready to attack shipping. With the June ceasefire between Washington and Tehran now collapsed and both sides showing little appetite for renewed talks, the dossier remains in a phase of military escalation. The US has expanded its bombing campaign to north-western Iran, while Iran has warned through semi-official media that it will strike regional infrastructure, including energy facilities, if American attacks continue.