Houthi Drone Accusations and Red Sea Tensions Fuel Global Oil Crisis

The Houthis have faced fresh accusations for allegedly firing a drone at Mecca, while the militant group insists they brought down a Saudi fighter jet as tensions rise and fears mount over a looming global oil crisis. These escalating events follow reports that Houthi rebels seized the strategic islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish in the southern Red Sea after striking a Saudi pipeline.

The Iran-backed group has been locked in a civil war against a Saudi-led coalition since 2014. This conflict has forced Saudi Arabia to reroute its exports away from the Persian Gulf because Iranian attacks have choked shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which serves as the only exit for that vital waterway. Brent crude jumped 1.17 per cent on Tuesday morning to reach $106.92 a barrel. Meanwhile, the average US diesel price last week crossed the $6-a-gallon mark for the first time. The war in Iran, combined with Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries, is squeezing global supplies tight.

In the UK, rising costs for petrol, diesel, and airfares have pushed inflation to its highest level in five months due to these disruptions. Inflation climbed to 3.1 per cent from 2.9 per cent, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. Muslims who can afford it are required to make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives, with millions traveling there each year. The city is considered the holiest site in Islam and the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree quickly pushed back against Saudi claims that they targeted Mecca following widespread condemnation. 'Our operations target its oil facilities and military bases, which are far removed from the sacred sites,' he stated. Major General Turki al-Maliki, the spokesman for the Saudi-led Coalition Forces, slammed the alleged attack on social media X. He called it a hostile attempt destined to stay as a black mark in the record of violations by the extremist terrorist Houthi militia, describing it as a deliberate act intended to provoke millions of Muslims. Al-Maliki vowed to take any necessary and deterrent measures against the group.

On Wednesday, the Houthis claimed they shot down a Saudi F15 fighter jet while it was conducting hostile operations in support of military mobilisations over Marib province. Saree posted this on social media, accusing Saudi Arabia of launching 450 strikes. He said Yemeni Armed Forces succeeded with Allah's aid and grace by using a locally made air-to-air missile. The East-West Pipeline remains critical for Saudi Arabia, running 1,200km or 124 miles across the country to move crude production from Gulf ports to Yanbu on the Red Sea.

From there, oil flows onto tankers for export. But authorities were forced to shut down the pipeline after an attack on Thursday that Saudi Arabia blamed on drones from Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. Repairing the damage, including at a major pumping facility, could take three to five weeks, officials have said. The pipeline may work partially during the repairs, one of the officials said, but they could not say how much oil might get through.

The pipeline has been moving an average of 2.6 million to four million barrels per day since late August – a quantity that will be lost to the market if the pipeline's flow stops completely, according to an analysis issued Monday by Rystad Energy, a Norway-based research firm. Meanwhile, Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels continued to expand their threat to Saudi shipping routes out of the Red Sea by capturing the strategic islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish, government and Houthi officials said Monday.

The islands lie 160km (99 miles) north of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The strait is a choke point that connects the Red Sea to the open ocean and Saudi Arabia's key Asian markets. The Houthis' advance also puts them just 20 miles from the US military base in the tiny Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti, on the other side of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. For more than a month, the Houthis have been striking Saudi oil infrastructure and shipping in the Red Sea, stepping up pressure on global oil prices and boosting Iran's leverage in its war with the US.

Houthi threats have kept the Kingdom on high alert, with air raid warnings sounding across the country daily, while a series of ballistic missile and drone attacks by the group wounded 13 civilians on Monday. The rebels deployed on the Hanish islands after hundreds of government-allied forces withdrew from the archipelago, according to two government officials and a Houthi official. Last week, the rebels seized the port city of Mokha and the island of Mayun, inside the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Government forces are now attempting to rally and fight back. On Sunday, the military said it launched airstrikes on Houthi positions in Mokha, the coastal town of Dhubab and elsewhere in Taiz province. A rebel spokesman said the Houthis fired dozens of missiles and drones at the King Khalid Airbase in the southern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait, targeting hangars, radar installations and ammunition depots. The statement on Monday by Saree did not specify when the strikes took place but the Houthis often take hours or days to claim responsibility for attacks.

General al-Maliki said the attacks struck civilian areas in Khamis Mushait and other nearby cities, injuring 13 civilians and damaging several houses and vehicles. He did not say whether the airbase had been hit. The Iran war has gouged Saudi oil production, which was down to six million barrels per day in August from nearly ten million in September the previous year, according to the International Energy Agency.

The fighting has also displaced nearly 94,000 people in Yemen who have since fled their homes. 'Many of them don't have enough food or water as they had to flee with whatever they could carry. In some areas, whole villages have reportedly emptied,' said Khanzad Shah, acting head of Islamic Relief, a charity that operates in the area. Around 200 schools have been converted to shelters in southwestern Yemen to absorb an influx of families, said Basma Alloush, deputy director of communications at the International Rescue Committee, an aid group.