Attacks in Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb Cut Oil Flows Through Key Straits
According to CNN, Iranian attacks on tankers near Hormuz and Houthi action at Bab al-Mandeb have sharply reduced oil flows, with Brent above $100.
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what happened
The US-Iran war has badly disrupted two vital oil shipping lanes: the Strait of Hormuz and, in recent weeks, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. CNN reports that Iran is stepping up strikes on tankers moving through Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, which is reducing the amount of crude leaving the region and keeping global prices above $100 a barrel. The UK Maritime Trade Operations service, which tracks security in the area, recorded 12 attacks on vessels in or near Hormuz in the past week, and two cargo ships sank this week after strikes from unidentified projectiles.
Analysts link the rise in attacks to the large volumes of oil that have recently got out through Hormuz. US forces have run an operation escorting tankers that switch off their transponders and transfer cargo to ships waiting in the Gulf of Oman. Iran, meanwhile, struggles to sail its own tankers because of the American naval blockade.
The fighting has also spread to Yemen, where Saudi Arabia is battling Iran-backed Houthi militants. The Houthis have targeted Saudi tankers in Bab al-Mandeb and hit the main international airport in Riyadh. Saudi crude exports from Yanbu on the Red Sea reached about 4.5 million barrels a day at their peak, around 3 million of which passed through Bab al-Mandeb, but according to Richard Bronze of Energy Aspects those flows collapsed after the Houthi threat escalated this summer.
why it matters
For oil markets, the key point is that disruption on two routes at once cuts supply while bypass pipelines are still unbuilt. Kpler analyst Johannes Rauball said that if the Houthis begin threatening ships from all countries, it would add further pressure on prices and tighten the balance between supply and demand. He also argued that the longer the conflict lasts, the less leverage Iran has, since other countries are building bypass routes.
market impact
Oil: disruption in Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb reduces supply, pushing Brent and WTI higher
tags
instruments
sources
- How the US-Iran war upended two critical global trade routes — cnn.com, 17 October 2026 at 05:00 UTC
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