Saeed Jafari Journalist

🔻Even as global markets continue to grapple with the repercussions of the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz—which has raised fresh concerns in the Bab al-Mandeb area about the security of energy supply—

Only a few days after Yemen’s Houthis spoke of a “maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia,” the first practical sign of carrying out this threat appeared. Saudi Arabia has confirmed that a projectile hit an oil tanker belonging to a Saudi company in the Red Sea—an attack that could also pose challenges for an alternative export route for the country’s oil following the Strait of Hormuz crisis.

In recent months, amid disruptions to the movement of tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia has significantly increased the share of oil exports from the port of Yanbu. This shift has made the security of this route of even greater importance for Riyadh.

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