Houthi Red Sea attacks push Brent crude above $100 as shipping route comes under pressure

Oil prices have risen back above $100 a barrel after Houthi rebels said they had struck Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea and announced a blockade of a key Saudi shipping route. The move has added pressure to maritime traffic through the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a chokepoint linking the Arabian Peninsula with the Horn of Africa. The disruption comes as the wider Middle East conflict continues to widen and markets react to the risk of further attacks.

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The price of Brent crude moved above $100 for the first time in two months, according to the supplied reports, as traders responded to fears over oil shipments. The Houthis said earlier in the week that they were imposing a blockade on Saudi Arabia, which has long relied on the route for energy exports. In a post on his Truth Social platform, US President Donald Trump said the Houthis had opened fire on two Saudi tankers on Wednesday and warned that Iran could be held responsible for their actions.

The reports say the threat has already caused disruption to shipping in the Red Sea, particularly through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait between Yemen and the Horn of Africa. That waterway is one of the world's most important energy and trade routes, and any sustained interruption can quickly affect global supply expectations. The supplied material also says the Saudis had been using the route to move oil that would otherwise be constrained by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula.

The latest developments matter because they link a regional military confrontation directly to energy markets. When shipping lanes are threatened, insurers, tanker operators and buyers often react before any physical shortage appears, which can push prices higher. The rise in Brent above $100 reflects concern not only about immediate deliveries, but also about whether the conflict could spread further across the Gulf and Red Sea corridor.

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The supplied rows place the episode within a broader confrontation involving the United States, Iran and the Houthis in Yemen. They also refer to previous US strikes on the Houthis and to the rebels' long-running conflict with Saudi Arabia, which has lasted for more than a decade. Iranian state media later reported sounds of explosions on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, adding to the sense of regional instability, although the supplied material does not confirm a direct link between those reports and the Houthi attacks.

What remains unclear is how long the disruption to Red Sea shipping will last and whether the blockade threat will be carried out beyond the initial attacks reported. It is also not confirmed in the supplied material whether the Saudi tankers were damaged or how much oil flow has been diverted. The key issues to watch are any further Houthi statements, any US or Iranian response, and whether oil prices remain above the $100 threshold.

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