ADEN/DUBAI, September 11 (Reuters) – The Houthis of Yemen, aligned with Iran, arrived on Friday at the strategic Perim island, in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to four Yemeni government sources told Reuters, which could bolster their control over one of the world’s most important sea routes.
Earlier, two Yemeni government sources — backed by Saudi Arabia and internationally recognized — said that their forces had withdrawn from Perim and that the Houthis had also seized the town of Dhubab, on the Red Sea coast opposite the island.
If the Houthis take full control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, located on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula relative to the Strait of Hormuz, this could give Iran, their backer, a decisive edge in the war against the United States, reducing supply via a second major transit corridor and triggering a rise in oil prices.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, has relied on the Red Sea route since the conflict with Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global oil used to pass.
In another potentially significant development for Riyadh, satellite images showed smoke on Thursday near Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, which has become a vital means for the kingdom to divert its oil exports away from the Strait of Hormuz.
There was no confirmation from Saudi Arabia of any incident in the area. The Saudi government press office and the state-owned oil giant Aramco did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the smoke visible in the Reuters-verified images.
Aramco has been using the East-West Pipeline to increase the flow of crude oil from the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea to the west, after U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran began six months ago, prompting Tehran to block the Strait of Hormuz.
Saudi crude supply fell by 2.3 million barrels per day in August, to 6 million bpd, the lowest level in more than three decades, the International Energy Agency said on Friday, partly due to attacks on ships transiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait by groups linked to Yemen’s Houthis.
Global oil prices were on track to end the week above $100 per barrel for the first time since mid-May, though they eased slightly on Friday after the Financial Times reported that Middle Eastern foreign ministers were trying to reach a temporary agreement to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Reuters was not able to verify that information immediately.
