The Houthi rebels in Yemen said on Thursday that they had struck two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea, as oil prices approached $100 a barrel amid a new front opening in the Middle East conflict approaching its fifth month. The strikes on the tankers — the Saudi oil tankers Encelia and Layla — were the first known attacks on Saudi ships since the Houthi movement imposed its maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia on Monday.
They were also the first time in the five-month US-Iran war that ship attacks had spread beyond the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz, opening a genuinely new front in a conflict whose energy market consequences have already produced the worst supply shock of the decade.
What the Houthis Did
The Houthis said they hit the two tankers, named Encelia and Layla, using ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones, according to its SABA News Agency. The Iranian-backed militant group also noted it forced approximately 10 ships to retreat.
In a Thursday statement on the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV, the Iran-backed group said it had targeted the Saudi oil tankers Encelia and Layla with drones and missiles for allegedly violating the maritime blockade against Saudi Red Sea ports that it had imposed on Monday.
The state-run Saudi Press Agency confirmed a strike on the Encelia as it traversed the Red Sea, resulting in a fire at the bow of the vessel. All the crew members are safe, SPA announced, citing an unnamed official from the Transport General Authority.
The confirmation from Saudi Arabia’s own state news agency — calm, factual and immediate — established the reality of the attack beyond the Houthi claim alone. The Encelia was on fire. Its crew was safe. A Saudi tanker, carrying crude oil, had been successfully attacked in the Red Sea by an IRGC-aligned militia acting under what Iran had described as a binding command.
The Oil Price Response
The strikes on the tankers Thursday caused international benchmark Brent crude to cross the $100 mark, with futures trading at about $101 per barrel, up from about $79 a month ago.
The psychological significance of $100 per barrel is significant independent of the economic arithmetic. When oil crosses three digits, it enters territory associated in the public consciousness with crisis — with the 2008 spike, with the 2022 Ukraine war peak, with historical episodes of economic disruption that have produced recessions, political instability and permanent changes to energy market structure. The crossing of that threshold sends a signal to consumers, to central banks, to governments and to businesses that the energy crisis has entered a new phase.
Average gas prices jumped to almost $4.10 per gallon, up from $3.92 a month ago, according to AAA. The direct consumer impact — petrol at $4.10 per gallon in the United States — is the number that will be most politically significant in Washington. At $4 per gallon, American consumer sentiment toward energy prices historically shifts into genuinely negative territory, creating political pressure that tends to accelerate the search for resolution.
The price of Brent crude, now up about 40 percent this month, surged Thursday after Iran’s Houthi allies in Yemen claimed strikes on Saudi tankers. At least one Saudi oil tanker has been attacked in the Red Sea, widening the risks to energy supplies already disrupted by a near halt to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
What This Changes — The New Front
It appeared to be the first time since the Iran war began that ship attacks had spread beyond the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz, opening up a new front in the volatile conflict.
The Houthi threat is so unsettling to oil markets because millions of barrels per day pass through the Bab el-Mandeb strait to reach global markets. About 12% to 15% of global maritime trade worth more than $1 trillion transits the waterway every year.
The specific mechanism through which the Houthi attack on Saudi tankers endangers the global energy supply goes beyond the direct loss of the attacked vessels. The Saudis have diverted millions of barrels of oil per day through a pipeline to an export terminal on the Red Sea. Those exports have acted as a crucial relief valve for global oil markets during the US-Iran war. By attacking Saudi tankers in the Red Sea near the Bab el-Mandeb, the Houthis are directly threatening the pipeline export route that has been Saudi Arabia’s — and the world’s — primary alternative to Hormuz since February 28.
What Trump Said — and What the UN Said
Trump today said the US would hold Iran responsible for any future attacks by the Houthis. The statement — placing formal responsibility for Houthi maritime operations on Iran rather than treating the Houthis as an independent actor — has direct implications for the diplomatic framework. If the US formally holds Iran responsible for Houthi attacks, then any ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran must include Iranian commitments about Houthi maritime activity — a demand that Iran has consistently rejected on the grounds that the Houthis are an independent movement whose decisions it does not control.
The situation in the Middle East is “getting out of control,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned today. The UN chief’s language — stark and unambiguous from an institution that typically deploys diplomatic hedging — reflects the institutional recognition that the confluence of the Hormuz disruption, the Red Sea blockade, the Houthi carrier attack, the Saudi tanker strikes and the oil price at $101 represents a degree of global economic risk that requires urgent attention.
Where Things Stand — 147 Days Into the War
The US-Iran war is in its 147th day. Oil is at $101 per barrel. The Strait of Hormuz carries approximately 33% of its pre-war commercial traffic. The Bab el-Mandeb has now seen its first successful attacks on Saudi tankers. Saudi Arabia’s primary oil export route is under direct threat. The US has conducted twelve consecutive nights of strikes on Iran. Iran has continued to fire on Gulf states. The Houthis have attacked a US carrier strike group and two Saudi tankers. And no diplomatic framework is currently active.
