The Tehran-backed Yemeni Houthis said they would impose a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia, putting at risk the flow of millions of barrels that the kingdom exports via the Red Sea. The move would add greater pressure on the US as it seeks to bomb Iran into submission over control of the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices rose during a fraught day of trading.
Saudi Arabia diverted its oil supplies to the key Red Sea port of Yanbu following the Feb. 28 attacks by the US and Israel on Iran, and Iran’s effective closure of Hormuz. Those exports, which rose to a record 4.19 million barrels a day last month, have helped limit the disruption to global supplies, but the route remains dangerous.
Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, where about a fifth of the world’s oil flowed before the war, remains near a standstill as Tehran and Washington stage tit-for-tat attacks. A disruption to supplies through the Red Sea would exacerbate the war’s impact on global oil trade and push up prices.
