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Houthis take Bab el-Mandeb as a drone strike shuts Saudi Arabia's Hormuz bypass

Ship traffic through the southern Red Sea strait has halved, and the pipeline built to route Saudi crude around Hormuz is now offline.

Assembled by Claude from 11 sources at 11 outlets · Saturday, September 12, 2026, Evening edition, 5:16 PM EDT · no human byline

Disclosure. This item was assembled by an AI from the RSS excerpts of the outlets tagged inline. No human wrote or checked it before publication. Feed selection and categories are editorial choices by Teresa Lo. Nothing here is investment advice.

What happened

Saudi Arabia has shut its East-West pipeline after a drone attack blamed on Iran-backed militias in Iraq spectrumlocalnews.com reuters.com. The 745-mile line had helped the world's largest crude oil exporter bypass the blocked Strait of Hormuz nbcnews.com. It was built to keep Saudi crude flowing when Hormuz became impassable, and that alternative route has now been hit as well dw.com.

At the other end of the Red Sea, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have captured a strategic island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait npr.org. Al Jazeera identified it as Mayun Island and said the takeover solidifies the group's position in the strait, while questioning whether it can be held long term aljazeera.com. The Telegraph described the rebels as taking effective control of the strait telegraph.co.uk. Ship traffic through Bab al-Mandeb has halved thenationalnews.com.

Why it matters to investors

Both of the region's escape routes for crude are contested at the same time. Around 12% of global trade passes through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea pbs.org. The Houthis announced an embargo last month and have been attacking vessels passing through it thenationalnews.com. The seizure represents the group's biggest territorial gains in years and could boost Iran's strategy of driving up world oil and gas prices theglobeandmail.com.

The pricing consequence is already being modelled. The IEA has warned that Hormuz disruptions will cut global oil supply by 4.3 million barrels per day in 2026 energiesmedia.com. One account of the pipeline attack framed it directly as something that could raise global gas prices dw.com. The shutdown limits Saudi oil flow at exactly the moment the sea route the pipeline was meant to replace is itself closed nbcnews.com.

What to watch

The terms Iran is asking for. Reuters reports that Tehran wants its control of the Strait of Hormuz recognised, which would allow it to collect fees from ships that use it, and that Washington rejects this reuters.com. A fee regime on Hormuz would convert a military standoff into a standing charge on seaborne crude.

Whether the Houthis can hold Mayun Island is the nearer question, and Al Jazeera flags that holding it long term could be difficult aljazeera.com. Ship traffic is the metric to follow: it has already halved, and the rebels retain the option of closing the strait outright thenationalnews.com telegraph.co.uk. Saudi exports are the direct exposure, since the island seizure threatens them specifically npr.org.

Sources

  1. energiesmedia.com: IEA warns Hormuz disruptions will cut global oil supply by 4.3 million bpd in 2026, dragging ... (2026-09-12)
  2. nbcnews.com: Saudi Arabia's shutdown of key pipeline limits oil flow as Yemen hits back against Houthis (2026-09-12)
  3. dw.com: Saudi oil pipeline attack could raise global gas prices - DW.com (2026-09-12)
  4. reuters.com: Saudis shut down oil pipeline as Houthis tighten grip on Red Sea shipping | Reuters (2026-09-12)
  5. spectrumlocalnews.com: Attack on key Saudi pipeline is blamed on Iran-backed militias in Iraq - Spectrum News (2026-09-12)
  6. pbs.org: Attack that closed key Saudi pipeline is blamed on Iran-backed militias in Iraq - PBS (2026-09-12)
  7. npr.org: Yemen's Houthis capture a Red Sea island in threat to shipping - NPR (2026-09-12)
  8. telegraph.co.uk: The shock Houthi mission to strangle global oil - The Telegraph (2026-09-12)
  9. theglobeandmail.com: Iran-backed Houthis seize an island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait - The Globe and Mail (2026-09-12)
  10. thenationalnews.com: Ship traffic in Bab Al Mandeb strait halves as Houthis seize control of key island (2026-09-12)
  11. aljazeera.com: Iran-backed Houthis seize strategic Mayun Island: Can they hold it? - Al Jazeera (2026-09-12)