On Monday, Yemen’s Houthis announced a blockade of Saudi Arabia, marking a major escalation that could ratchet up pressure on global oil markets at a time when U.S. and global oil stockpiles are dangerously depleted.
A Houthi blockade could also subject Saudi Arabia to the same broad-based economic warfare the U.S. has waged by blockading Iran. The Red Sea, bordered by Yemen to the southeast, has emerged not only as a crucial outlet for oil rerouted from the Strait of Hormuz to global markets, but also as an important conduit for grain and other crucial imports to Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries.
Thus the blockade, if enacted, could pressure President Donald Trump to scale back his strikes on Iran in two major ways: by threatening economic calamity through skyrocketing oil prices, and by pressuring the Saudis to disallow the use of their bases and airspace for attacks against Iran. Recall that Saudi disapproval prompted Trump to suspend Project Freedom, the U.S. initiative to guide shipping through the Strait of Hormuz in early May, barely two days after it began.
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