ADEN/DUBAI | New strikes on Saudi Arabia and commercial shipping in the Gulf are heightening concerns over the widening conflict in the Middle East, with an Iranian cargo vessel struck in the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia’s main oil pipeline used to bypass the waterway still offline, and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis advancing near another critical maritime route, Reuters reported Sunday.
The latest incidents came as a vessel was struck by a projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations. The attack caused a fire and forced the crew to evacuate. Iran separately reported that one person was killed and four crew members were wounded when an Iranian commercial vessel was struck off its coast, according to Reuters and Iranian state media.
The incidents have added to pressure on global energy markets already facing disruptions from the conflict. Oil traders were expecting prices to rise again when markets reopen Monday, Reuters reported.
Saudi Arabia is also dealing with the shutdown of its 1,200-kilometer East-West oil pipeline following drone strikes. The pipeline crosses the Arabian Peninsula and provides Saudi Arabia with its principal alternative route for exporting oil without sending it through the Strait of Hormuz.
Reuters reported that the pipeline was severely damaged in Friday’s strikes. Saudi Arabia has enough oil stocks at its Red Sea port of Yanbu to maintain exports for roughly five to seven days if the pipeline remains shut, according to Saudi oil buyers and traders cited by the news agency. A prolonged outage could threaten as much as 4% of global oil supply.
The pipeline attack has also increased tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Riyadh and Baghdad have traced the attack to Iraqi territory, where Iran-backed militias operate, Reuters reported. Iraq’s government responded by dismissing a senior military commander, while Saudi Arabia has reserved the right to defend its territory and critical infrastructure. U.S. President Donald Trump has directly blamed Iran for the strikes, according to Reuters.
The conflict is also spreading toward the southern end of the Red Sea. The Houthis captured Perim Island on Friday, according to Reuters. The island sits in the Bab el-Mandeb, a narrow passage known as the “Gate of Tears” that controls access between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The development raises the prospect of additional pressure on commercial shipping along a route that connects the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean. Saudi state media has reported damage to homes and a mosque in Jazan province following a cross-border attack, while the Houthis have claimed an attack on a Saudi military base.
Reuters also reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has asked Washington for military assistance against the Houthis. The United States has so far provided intelligence support, according to sources cited by Reuters.
Iran, meanwhile, is preparing for talks with Gulf countries in Oman on Monday concerning shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials have said an understanding with Oman has been reached on future shipping arrangements, although Oman has not publicly confirmed the agreement. Iraq has said it will send a delegation, while Bahrain will not participate, according to Reuters.
Iran has maintained that reopening the waterway depends on the United States ending what Tehran describes as a blockade. Iranian officials have also discussed charging vessels fees for passage through waters under Iranian and Omani control, Reuters reported.
The Strait of Hormuz has been a strategic energy chokepoint for decades. During the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, attacks on commercial tankers in the Gulf became known as the Tanker War and prompted international naval forces to protect shipping.
The waterway remains critical to global energy markets. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated that about 20.9 million barrels of oil per day passed through Hormuz during the first half of 2025, equivalent to roughly 20% of global petroleum liquids consumption and about one-quarter of global maritime oil trade.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have pipelines that can bypass Hormuz for some exports, but their combined capacity is much smaller than the volume normally transported through the strait.
With shipping threatened in both Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb, and Saudi Arabia’s main alternative oil-export route damaged, the latest attacks are increasing pressure on governments and energy markets already dealing with one of the most serious disruptions to Middle Eastern oil flows in years.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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