Houthi Gains and Pipeline Attack Disrupt Red Sea Shipping and Oil Markets

Houthi rebels have seized strategic territory near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, including the port of Mokha and several islands, while a separate attack damaged Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline. These events are disrupting Red Sea shipping and Saudi oil exports, raising global oil prices and increasing pressure on Gulf states and the U.S. to respond. The Houthi advance has brought their forces approximately 20 miles from a U.S. military base in Djibouti. The rebels captured the Red Sea port of Mokha and the islands of Mayun, Greater Hanish, and Lesser Hanish, expanding control near the critical shipping chokepoint. This follows a month of strikes on Saudi oil infrastructure and shipping in the Red Sea. Simultaneously, Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline was shut down after an attack that Saudi Arabia blamed on Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. The pipeline, which has a capacity of up to 7 million barrels of oil a day, is a crucial alternative export route avoiding the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranian attacks have already disrupted shipping. Officials indicated repairs could take three to five weeks. The combination of disruptions sent oil prices spiking to $109 per barrel.