Strikes set Saudi oil pipeline on fire as Iran-backed Houthis tighten grip on key shipping corridor

Saudi Arabia shut down a critical oil pipeline Thursday after it was set on fire by repeated strikes — while the Iran-backed Houthis seized control of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline, tightening their grip on a vital shipping route in the region.Multiple drones blasted Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline Thursday, sparking fires and resulting in “a number of injuries,” according to the country’s energy ministry.A senior Saudi official told The Wall Street Journal that Thursday’s attacks originated from Iraq, where Iranian-backed militias have been relentlessly targeting the Kingdom’s infrastructure in a calculated effort alongside the Houthis to widen the war in the Middle East.But the Saudis reportedly do not plan on retaliating.

The pipeline, which can carry up to 7 million barrels of crude oil a day to the port of Yambu on the Red Sea, was closed as a precautionary measure in light of the strikes, the ministry said.Satellite images showed large black clouds of debris blotting out the pipeline.The strikes come as the Houthis captured Mayun, a tiny Yemeni island inside the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the 20-mile-wde critical shipping corridor for Saudi oil exports that sits at the tip of the Red Sea — and opposite the Strait of Hormuz along the Arabian Peninsula.The Houthis efforts to grab hold of the shipping route could hand Iran a critical advantage in its war with the US, reducing supplies through a second major corridor and result in another spike in oil prices.The Houthi armed forces boasted of their gains and vowed an “escalation for escalation” in their fight against the Saudi Kingdom — and eerily declared that “maritime navigation is safe for all companies except for Saudi vessels.”The threats added pressure to an already volatile market, with crude prices rising above $100 a barrel this week.Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly called President Trump twice Thursday to urge him to launch US strikes against the Houthis amidst th...