Saudi oil routes face new uncertainty after Houthi tanker claims

Saudi Arabia’s principal alternative route for bypassing the Strait of Hormuz was drawn deeper into the conflict on Thursday (July 23), after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis claimed missile and drone attacks on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.

The group described the operation as part of its naval blockade of the kingdom, raising concern that global oil supplies could face a second squeeze at Bab el-Mandeb alongside Iran’s effort to control Hormuz.

Shipping had already begun responding to the threat.

Five tankers altered course on Wednesday to avoid Bab el-Mandeb, while three vessels carrying Saudi crude to China and India turned back on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia has been directing millions of barrels a day to its Red Sea port of Yanbu to bypass Hormuz.

Without access to the Red Sea’s southern exit, shipments would be left with the northern passage through the Suez Canal, adding weeks to voyages and substantially increasing costs.

Of the two vessels named by the Houthis, only the Encelia was linked to a reported incident.

A maritime security source said the tanker issued a distress call near the Saudi port of Jizan late on Wednesday and reported that it had been hit by a missile.

Vanguard, a British maritime risk-management group, said an unidentified projectile struck the Saudi-flagged vessel’s starboard side about 70 nautical miles south-west of Al Shuqaiq.

The reported attack on the Layla has not been confirmed.

The blockade was announced on Monday by the Houthis, who control territory near Bab el-Mandeb at the opposite end of the Arabian Peninsula from Hormuz.

Some analysts regard the move as a tactical attempt by Iran to strengthen its position in any diplomatic effort to end the war.

Current and former US officials have warned that the threat could broaden the conflict substantially and place further strain on the American military.

Economic and political repercussions had emerged before the renewed tension in the Red Sea.

Iran’s near-total blockade of Hormuz had already fuelled inflation worldwide, driven up oil prices and increased petrol costs for US consumers.

The unpopular war has also placed President Donald Trump’s Republican allies under pressure ahead of congressional elections in November.

Military operations were widening at the same time.

The US military reported another round of strikes on Iran on Wednesday under Trump’s direction, extending the campaign to a 12th consecutive night.

Since a ceasefire reached in June broke down, American attacks have expanded from southern Iran into western and central areas.

US Central Command said it would continue to “further degrade” Iran’s ability to threaten maritime traffic.

Before the latest Red Sea escalation, Trump had pledged to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant whenever Iran fired on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s joint military command responded that any attack on its infrastructure would prompt strikes against oil, gas, electricity and economic facilities across the region.

Iranian forces would also prevent the export of “even a single drop of oil”, according to Iranian state media.

Several hours later, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reported an explosion along what they described as a mined route south of Hormuz.

One of three oil tankers caught fire, and the other two turned back, the Guards said.

They claimed the strait was under their control and “completely closed”, adding that no tanker could enter or leave without co-ordinating with Iran.

Iranian state media reported on Thursday that the US had attacked a site in Bushehr, near the country’s only operating commercial nuclear power reactor, for the second time in two days.

It also reported that two people were killed in a US missile strike near the passenger terminal at the Shalamcheh border crossing between Iran and Iraq.

Despite triumphant statements from Washington, Iran has continued to demonstrate missile and drone capabilities, striking vital desalination and energy plants in Kuwait this week and targeting US military assets there, in Bahrain and in Jordan.

Casualties have continued to rise on both sides.

An Iranian Health Ministry official reported that 53 civilians had been killed and 592 wounded since late last month.

Thousands of people have died, and millions have been displaced since the US and Israel launched the war on February 28.

The US military maintains that it never targets civilians; attacks on civilians could breach the 1949 Geneva Conventions governing humanitarian conduct in war.

Trump has nevertheless repeatedly threatened civilian infrastructure, which may be targeted when it is also used for military purposes, provided civilian harm is not excessive.

The conflict has killed 18 US service members and wounded more than 450 troops.

At Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday, Trump attended a ceremony for four personnel killed in Iranian attacks on military bases over the preceding few days, three in Jordan and one in Iraq.

“For me it’s one of the hardest things to do as a president. But it has to be done,” he said before leaving for the ceremony.

During a later speech in Georgia, however, Trump described the war differently: “I call it a skirmish.”

Source: Reuters