DUBAI | Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels launched a new wave of missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, while diplomatic efforts to ease tensions around the Strait of Hormuz stalled, adding to growing concerns over global oil supplies.
Reuters reported that the Houthis targeted a military base in Khamis Mushait in southern Saudi Arabia, with Saudi-led forces saying 13 civilians were wounded. The attacks came as the Houthis expanded their presence along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and seized the strategic Perim Island near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another major maritime chokepoint.
The escalation is putting additional pressure on Saudi Arabia’s oil-export network. A drone attack earlier damaged the kingdom’s East-West oil pipeline, which runs about 1,200 kilometers from the oil-producing region on the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea port of Yanbu. The pipeline, also known as Petroline, allows Saudi Arabia to move crude toward the Red Sea without sending it through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Associated Press reported that the pipeline is expected to remain largely out of service for three to five weeks while repairs are carried out. The disruption is particularly significant because Saudi Arabia has relied more heavily on the route as shipping through Hormuz has been severely restricted.
The East-West pipeline was built in the early 1980s during the Iran-Iraq War, when attacks on shipping in the Persian Gulf highlighted the vulnerability of oil exports through Hormuz. Its strategic purpose has remained largely the same: providing Saudi Arabia with an alternative route to export crude when the Gulf’s main maritime passage is threatened.
The latest Houthi advances are creating another potential obstacle. Perim Island sits near the Bab el-Mandeb, the narrow waterway linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. Reuters reported that Houthi forces have also made gains along Yemen’s western coastline, increasing their ability to threaten shipping approaching the Red Sea.
The developments have coincided with a sharp decline in traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Reuters reported that only four commodity vessels passed through the waterway on Monday, compared with 10 the previous day and an estimated pre-war average of about 125 daily transits. Traffic through Bab el-Mandeb also fell, according to shipping data cited by Reuters.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints. U.S. Energy Information Administration data show that about 20.7 million barrels of oil per day passed through the strait in 2024, equivalent to roughly one-fifth of global petroleum liquids consumption. The Bab el-Mandeb handled about 4.1 million barrels per day during the same year.
Diplomatic efforts to reopen or stabilize Hormuz have meanwhile lost momentum. Oman postponed a planned meeting involving Iran and Gulf Arab states, according to Reuters, while conflicting reports continued to emerge over an oil tanker incident near the strait.
The United States has so far avoided a deeper military role in the latest confrontation, although President Donald Trump said he had been communicating with Saudi and Houthi leaders and urged restraint, Reuters reported.
The expanding disruptions are already being reflected in energy markets. Oil prices moved higher as traders assessed the possibility of prolonged interruptions to supplies, with the Saudi pipeline outage removing another important outlet at a time when both Hormuz and the Red Sea are facing severe security restrictions.
For the Philippines and other major oil-importing economies in Asia, prolonged disruption along the region’s major energy routes could translate into higher international crude prices, shipping costs and eventually domestic fuel and transport expenses. The immediate impact will depend on how long the supply disruptions persist and whether alternative routes and inventories can offset the losses.
The broader conflict also carries a significant humanitarian cost. Reuters reported that more than 82,000 people had been displaced in Yemen since early September as Houthi forces advanced along the Red Sea coast, adding another layer to a conflict that has continued for more than a decade.
The renewed attacks therefore extend beyond a confrontation between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis. With Hormuz, the Red Sea and a major Saudi oil pipeline all under pressure at the same time, the conflict is increasingly threatening some of the world’s most important energy and shipping routes.
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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