Overview
- Houthi forces captured Mokha, Perim (Mayyun) and the Greater and Lesser Hanish islands, giving them line‑of‑sight over the Bab el‑Mandeb and new capacity to monitor or target ships, according to multiple regional reports.
- Saudi Arabia shut the East–West (Petroline) pipeline after drone strikes damaged pumping stations, and officials say repairs could take several weeks, forcing Riyadh to reroute crude through the Strait of Hormuz.
- The pipeline outage and Houthi advances have driven Brent above $100 a barrel and raised insurance and freight costs for tankers and container ships transiting the region.
- Diplomatic efforts have stalled with Oman postponing planned talks with Iran and Gulf states, and the United States limiting its role to intelligence and personnel support while resisting requests for direct military intervention.
- Commercial shipping is mounting a cautious return to the Suez route with some major carriers restarting transits, but the fighting has displaced roughly 85,000–94,000 people in Yemen and heightened the chance of broader, sustained disruption to oil and trade flows.