Yemen's Houthi rebels have resumed missile attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, targeting vessels like the Daisy and Wafa to enforce a naval blockade. In response, six Saudi supertankers have rerouted around southern Africa, adding 25 days to their transit. This escalation threatens Saudi Arabia's workaround of using the East-West Pipeline to Yanbu to bypass the closed Strait of Hormuz, prompting Saudi Arabia to launch retaliatory airstrikes in Yemen for the first time since 2022.
Houthi attacks on Saudi vessels
- ▪Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for a ballistic missile strike on a Saudi oil vessel named Daisy in the Gulf of Aden.
- ▪The Wafa is the eighth Saudi oil tanker that the Houthis claim to have struck since declaring their maritime blockade on July 22, 2026.
- ▪Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed they successfully targeted the Saudi oil tanker Wafa with ballistic missiles in the northern Red Sea off the coast of Yanbu.
IRGC involvement in Yemen
- ▪A return flight from Iran to Yemen on July 12, 2026, reportedly carried Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel and components for missiles and drones.
- ▪A Houthi delegation flew from Sanaa to Tehran on Mahan Air in early July 2026 to attend the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Saudi oil export route vulnerabilities
- ▪Six Saudi-flagged supertankers turned away from the Gulf of Aden to route around southern Africa, potentially adding 25 days to their transit time.
- ▪Saudi Aramco is considering expanding its East-West Pipeline and identifying alternative export routes to reduce vulnerability to shipping disruptions.
- ▪The East-West Pipeline previously allowed Saudi Arabia to bypass the closed Strait of Hormuz by moving 7 million barrels per day to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.
Regional maritime choke point risks
- ▪The Strait of Hormuz remains closed to international shipping despite a United States naval blockade that has been in effect for nearly a month.
- ▪A suspected Iranian drone strike on a floating liquefied natural gas facility in Egypt's port of Damietta caused a fire that spread to a nearby tanker.
Saudi airstrikes in Yemen
- ▪Saudi Arabia has carried out retaliatory airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen for the first time since the 2022 truce.
- ▪Saudi Arabia and the United States conducted joint airstrikes in Iraq on July 28, 2026, targeting Iranian-aligned groups.
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