Two supertankers loaded with Saudi crude and bound for Asian markets abruptly reversed course in the Red Sea this week, turning back toward the Suez Canal after Yemen's Houthi rebels declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia — a vivid sign of how quickly the Middle East conflict has widened in a matter of days.
A new front opens
Houthis cite Sanaa airport strike
The Iran-aligned Houthi movement announced on Monday that it was imposing a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia, describing the move as "an eye for an eye." The group said the action was retaliation for a July 13 strike by Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces on the runway at Sanaa International Airport, carried out to prevent an Iranian passenger plane from landing. That plane was carrying a Houthi delegation returning from funeral ceremonies in Iran for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei; it was diverted instead to Hodeidah.
The Houthis first responded by striking Abha airport in southern Saudi Arabia before announcing the full blockade, and they have warned of a "comprehensive and decisive" response to any further Saudi escalation. The declaration marks the first claimed Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia since an informal truce took hold in 2022.
Two chokepoints, one war
The Hormuz ceasefire collapse
The blockade threat came just days after a 60-day US-Iran ceasefire fell apart on July 8 over control of the Strait of Hormuz, prompting the United States to resume strikes on Iranian military targets. By July 21, the two sides had been trading strikes for roughly ten straight days. Iran said it had disabled two "rogue supertankers," while the United Arab Emirates reported that Iranian missiles struck two of its tankers in Omani territorial waters, killing one crew member. US Central Command said it had resumed a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
The Houthis' move against Bab el-Mandeb effectively opened a second maritime front, stretching the conflict from one narrow strait to two. Analysts note that a simultaneous closure of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb could put roughly a quarter of the world's oil and gas supply at risk.
Oil markets brace for a shock
Asia's top buyers exposed
Brent crude traded near $90 a barrel on Tuesday, well above the roughly $70 average seen before the war began, though still below the roughly $126 peak reached earlier in the conflict. Bab el-Mandeb normally carries about 4.1 billion barrels of oil a year, some 5% of global supply, and around 12% of world trade passes through the strait.
China buys 25.6% of Saudi crude exports, followed by South Korea at 15.8%, Japan at 15.4% and India at 10.5%, leaving those economies most exposed to any disruption. Analysts warn that a prolonged blockade would raise import costs for refiners, push buyers toward costlier spot cargoes, and add inflationary pressure across both Western and Asian economies.
Washington and Riyadh respond
Trump vows to "take care of things"
President Trump said the United States would "take care of things" in the Red Sea if the Houthis follow through on the blockade, adding that "we've done that with the Houthis before." The Saudi-led coalition called the blockade threat "a blatant violation of international law" and said it would respond with force.
The reversal of the two Saudi-bound tankers in the Red Sea this week showed that shippers are already adjusting routes before the blockade has been formally enforced. Coming four months after Khamenei was killed at the outset of the US-Israel war and just weeks after his state funeral concluded, the widening crisis illustrates how a conflict that began with one leader's death has evolved into a threat to two of the world's most vital oil chokepoints at once. With mediators reportedly still pushing for a new ten-day ceasefire, global markets are likely to stay on edge as long as both Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb remain contested.
