Houthis claim full control of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, as Tehran plans talks in Muscat over the Strait of Hormuz blockade
RIYADH, Sept. 12, 2026 : Saudi authorities have suspended flows through the kingdom’s critical East-West crude pipeline as a precaution following strikes in the Riyadh and Madinah administrative regions that injured several people.
The emergency shutdown temporarily removes the Arabian Peninsula’s primary overland route designed to bypass maritime transit chokepoints, landing a sharp blow to regional export corridors at a moment of spiraling naval conflict.
The pipeline strikes arrived alongside an assertion from Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, widely known as the Houthis, stating their forces have seized Yemen’s entire Red Sea coastline. The claim places the northern perimeter of the Bab el-Mandeb strait under direct militant oversight, threatening cargo movements through the southern mouth of the Red Sea.
Saudi Civil Defence officials confirmed early Saturday that damage assessments and containment protocols are underway along the impacted transit sections. An emergency alert issued earlier in the southern Sharurah Governorate has been resolved with no ongoing public threat reported in that sector, according to civil defence authorities.
The East-West system, operated by state energy producer Saudi Aramco, spans roughly 1,200 kilometers from the oil-producing Eastern Province to the Red Sea export terminal at Yanbu. Energy analysts view the corridor as Saudi Arabia’s strategic hedge against disruption in the Persian Gulf, allowing millions of barrels per day to reach global markets without traversing the Strait of Hormuz.
The infrastructure halt coincides with shifting diplomatic maneuvers in the lower Gulf. Iranian officials announced plans to convene with representatives of Gulf Cooperation Council states on Monday in Muscat, Oman. Discussions will focus on maritime security and navigation access through the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranian forces have maintained restrictive blockades that have paralyzed regular commercial transit.
Global energy traders reacted swiftly to the dual chokepoint threat, with European and Asian benchmark contracts pricing in immediate risk premiums over potential supply disruptions across both sides of the Arabian Peninsula.
