Houthi Forces Escalate Red Sea Blockade as Yemen Ground War Expands
Claire Weston
Since July 22 the Houthis have struck at least 8 Saudi tankers while ground offensives in Yemen killed or wounded 45 government troops — Red Sea shipping risk is no longer a single-front naval problem but a dual-front sea-and-land crisis that the Hormuz talks alone cannot resolve.
How far has the sea blockade gone?
The Houthis imposed a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia starting July 22 and have hit at least 8 Saudi oil tankers since.
In the latest strikes, a ballistic missile hit the tanker Wafa near the port city of Yanbu; a second strike in the Gulf of Aden hit the tanker Daisy, forcing it to turn back.
The Houthis call this a "blockade-for-blockade" strategy and threaten to seal off "all routes to Saudi oil." Riyadh has not officially confirmed either attack.
Why is the ground war escalating at the same time?
Saudi-backed Yemeni forces announced preparations for a major new military offensive.
Houthi rockets and drones struck government camps in Hadramawt and Marib, killing or wounding 45 government troops. This means → the Houthis deliberately targeted the two regions that hold most of Yemen's oil and gas reserves, turning energy infrastructure into battlefield leverage.
Saudi-supported air defenses later shot down a Houthi drone over Marib, but the broader trend is clear: the ground conflict is widening, not narrowing.
Can the Hormuz talks fix the Red Sea problem?
Iran says its deal with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is "near finalization"; transit lanes and protocols are largely set. Tehran insists the U.S. has no role in these talks.
Analysts warn, however, that even a completed Hormuz deal leaves Yemen and the Bab el-Mandeb crisis unresolved — those require separate negotiations. In plain terms = Hormuz and the Red Sea are two different locks; opening one still leaves the other shut.
The Houthi Red Sea blockade is widely seen as an independent lever Iran retains outside the Hormuz framework. This reflects Tehran's strategy: even if Persian Gulf shipping resumes, it can still pressure global energy flows through the Houthis.
What position does Saudi Arabia find itself in?
Riyadh faces pressure from three directions simultaneously: Yemen to the southwest, Iraq to the northeast, and Iran to the east.
This means → Saudi Arabia's security challenge is not a single-point problem but a systemic, three-sided squeeze.
Whether Red Sea shipping risk can meaningfully ease depends on two conditions holding at once: the Hormuz deal actually lands + Yemen's ground war reaches an independent ceasefire. If either breaks down, shipping premiums and oil-price volatility will persist.
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