Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement claimed Tuesday that it struck the Saudi oil tanker Wafa with multiple ballistic missiles in the northern Red Sea near Yanbu, marking the latest escalation in the group's enforcement of a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia.
The Iran-aligned group's military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said the vessel was forced to turn back. According to the Houthi announcement, the strike achieved a direct hit on the tanker in what the group presented as evidence of successful enforcement of the blockade.
The Houthis declared a maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia on July 22, targeting Saudi-flagged vessels and any ships bound for Saudi ports in retaliation for what they described as a Saudi-imposed siege on Yemeni airspace and infrastructure. Saree claimed the group has now struck eight oil tankers and forced 29 others to reverse course since implementing the blockade.
According to the Houthi statement, the group will continue and intensify operations, targeting Saudi ports in the northern Red Sea with the aim of closing them entirely. Saree characterized the Houthi campaign as establishing a "blockade in response to a blockade," indicating the group's intent to pressure Saudi Arabia regardless of consequences.
The attack on the Wafa represents a significant threat to Saudi Arabia's critical export infrastructure. Yanbu, on the Red Sea coast, has become Saudi Arabia's primary crude export port after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, with the East-West Pipeline delivering crude that bypasses the Persian Gulf. Any sustained disruption to Yanbu threatens to eliminate Saudi Arabia as a functioning global oil supplier for the duration of the blockade.
The Houthi attacks put at risk oil shipments from Saudi Arabia's Yanbu port on the Red Sea and present a "double whammy" on top of the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. The escalation has already triggered commercial routing changes. Five very large crude carriers were berthed at Yanbu's oil-loading terminals on Saturday, making it the most active day since Iran-backed Houthi rebels imposed a blockade on Saudi ports two weeks ago.
The Houthi campaign extends the regional conflict spawned by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the broader U.S.-Iran military confrontation, creating parallel chokepoints on global energy supplies. The group has also vowed to maintain its blockade on Israeli-linked shipping regardless of diplomatic pressure, signaling that the maritime campaign will persist even as global oil markets absorb the disruption.
