From Jizan to Yanbu, Houthi escalation threatens Saudi exports

Before Iran turned the Strait of Hormuz into the main maritime front in its confrontation with the United States, Yemen's Houthis had shown how an armed group with limited resources could disrupt one of the world's most strategic shipping lanes.When the war between the United States, Israel and Iran broke out in February, they largely remained on the sidelines. Today, the Ansarallah rebels, allies of Tehran, are once again taking advantage of their position overlooking the Bab al-Mandeb. For now, the group is not threatening to block all traffic through the strait. Its stated target is more specific: Saudi Arabia. The confrontation is already affecting the kingdom’s refineries, oil terminals and alternative export routes, just as instability in Hormuz underscores the Red Sea’s importance for Riyadh and, more broadly, the Gulf...