Houthi Attacks Expand Middle East Energy Risks Beyond Strait of Hormuz, Kpler Says

Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia have widened risks to global energy trade beyond the Strait of Hormuz, raising concerns that the Red Sea could become a second major conflict zone, Kpler said in a Tuesday note. Kpler said the Yemen-based Houthis largely stayed out of earlier fighting between the US and Iran, helping preserve the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea as a key alternative shipping route despite repeated military exchanges and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi strikes on Houthi targets triggered missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia, increasing the likelihood that the Red Sea is emerging as a second maritime front, Kpler said. The firm added that the breakdown of the unofficial truce between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis could have implications beyond Yemen by exposing additional crude oil, refined products, and shipping flows to disruption. The escalation raises three key questions for governments, Kpler said, including how much additional energy supply is at risk, which participants could join Iran next and when countries may choose direct involvement to protect national interests. Saudi Arabia spent over a decade expanding the East-West.