{"id":4404,"date":"2026-09-12T15:37:04","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T15:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4404"},"modified":"2026-09-12T15:37:04","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T15:37:04","slug":"saudi-arabia-faces-nightmare-scenario-as-houthis-threaten-shipping-route-and-drones-close-pipeline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4404","title":{"rendered":"Saudi Arabia faces nightmare scenario as Houthis threaten\u00a0shipping route and drones close pipeline"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2293940412-e1789226061123.jpg?w=2048\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s a nightmare scenario for Saudi Arabia, and it\u00a0has sent jitters\u00a0through global markets.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Saudis\u2019 most essential ally, the United States,\u00a0has been unpredictableand\u00a0sometimes unreliable. U.S. President\u00a0Donald Trump\u00a0seems reluctant to widen an already unpopular and stalemated Mideast war ahead of congressional elections. For Iran, the rebels\u2019 advance and closure of the pipeline ramp up global economic pressure as its grip over the Strait of Hormuz\u00a0has been loosened.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Michael Ratney, a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said the latest developments are \u201cincredibly frustrating\u201d for the kingdom.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDespite their antipathy for the Iranians, this is a war they had never asked for, they had great trepidation about. And once it started, all of their \u2026 worst-case scenarios started coming true.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Saudi government did not respond to a request for comment. But a Saudi official, who was not authorized to brief media and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the kingdom would defend itself and work with partners, including the United States, to ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Saudi hopes for a new Mideast have gone up in smoke<\/h4>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Saudi Arabia\u2019s crown prince and de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman, has spent years trying to build a very different Middle East, with wide-ranging\u00a0social and economic changes\u00a0aimed at transforming the ultra-conservative kingdom into\u00a0a global business hub\u00a0in\u00a0a more prosperous and integrated region.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those efforts suffered major setbacks after Hamas\u2019\u00a0Oct. 7, 2023 attackon Israel, which triggered\u00a0one war after another. When the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, it responded with missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, and effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, bottling up their oil and gas exports and jolting the world economy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Saudi Arabia escaped some of the worst effects by piping its oil across the Arabian Peninsula to the Red Sea, where it could be exported to Europe via Egypt\u2019s SUMED pipeline and the Suez Canal, or to Asia via a route running through\u00a0the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and toward the Indian Ocean.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But\u00a0tensions reignited with the Houthis\u00a0in July, leading the rebels to declare a blockade of Saudi shipping and resume large-scale attacks for the first time in four years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the last two days, the Houthis have seized the port city of Mokha and a Red Sea island from Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces, enhancing the rebels\u2019 ability to block Saudi shipments through the Bab el-Mandeb.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Friday, Saudi Arabia said it shut down the pipeline leading from major oil fields in the east to the Red Sea in the west because of drone attacks originating in Iraq, where Iran supports powerful militias. Regional officials recently\u00a0told The Associated Press\u00a0that the Houthis have helped the Iraqi militias carry out attacks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Houthi attacks have already caused a plunge in Saudi oil exports to Asia, from around 3.4 million barrels a day in June to just 128,000 in August, though they had recovered somewhat this month to 700,000, according to figures compiled by Kpler, a global trade monitor.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Saudis have few options<\/h4>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Saudi Arabia fought against the Houthis for years beginning in 2015, but its allies made little progress on the ground. The conflict killed an estimated 150,000 people and at times pushed Yemen to the brink of famine before a 2022 ceasefire.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSaudi Arabia has spent several years trying to move beyond the Yemen conflict and focus on economic transformation and regional stability,\u201d said Neil Quilliam, a Middle East expert at Chatham House.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cRecent Houthi gains increase pressure on Riyadh to respond, but every available option carries significant costs and uncertain outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Saudis could step up their military response and try to dislodge the Houthis, but that would prolong the conflict and lead to even heavier Houthi attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure, said Sherwan Hindreen Ali, Middle East research manager at ACLED, a conflict monitoring group.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe kingdom already faced this in the past, but Houthi weaponry is more sophisticated now than it was back then, and the Saudis likely have less interceptor missiles available as a result of the U.S.-Iran conflict,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Saudis could also seek a diplomatic solution with either the Houthis or their patrons in Tehran.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the Houthis have demanded the lifting of a Saudi-led blockade, which would allow them to grow much stronger over the long term, and Iran has little interest in stabilizing the region without securing major U.S. concessions.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">US help may not be forthcoming<\/h4>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For decades, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have relied on U.S. security guarantees. Those have eroded under Trump, who did not respond during his first term when\u00a0a 2019 attack claimed by the Houthis temporarily knocked out half of Saudi Arabia\u2019s oil supply.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In February, the U.S. joined Israel in attacking Iran without consulting its Gulf allies, and since then it has struggled to defend them from Iranian attacks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump\u00a0launched an air campaign\u00a0against the Houthis last year in response to earlier attacks on Red Sea shipping linked to the war in Gaza. But this time, U.S. forces are heavily deployed around the Strait of Hormuz, where they are blockading Iran and trying to prevent attacks on shipping there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fighting has\u00a0visibly strained the U.S. military\u00a0and\u00a0drawn down supplies of sophisticated interceptors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The war is also deeply unpopular and has eroded Trump\u2019s support\u00a0after he had promised\u00a0to keep the U.S. out of Mideast wars. Launching another military campaign in Yemen could\u00a0compound the struggles\u00a0of fellow Republicans in tight House and Senate races.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump on Saturday said Iran \u201cprobably\u201d was behind the Saudi pipeline attack. Asked about a recent call with Saudi\u2019s crown prince, he said: \u201cHe\u2019s a good friend of mine, and I can just say everything\u2019s going to work out fine and dandy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The White House did not respond to a request for comment on whether it plans to intervene in Yemen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking more broadly about the war with Iran on Thursday, Trump shrugged aside the idea of increasing military pressure, as some U.S. hawks have suggested. \u201cMaybe I don\u2019t do that because of the election,\u201d he told Fox News\u2019 \u201cThe Ingraham Angle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ratney, the former U.S. ambassador, said it would be difficult for the Saudis to achieve their objectives without consistent U.S. support, which they had at previous times while fighting the Houthis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy understanding at this point is the White House is not enthusiastic about getting involved,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>#Saudi #Arabia #faces #nightmare #scenario #Houthis #threatenshipping #route #drones #close #pipeline<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s a nightmare scenario for &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4405,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[963,1761,5313,1765,7318,7382,2658,146,962,1515,7383,7384],"class_list":["post-4404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance-news","tag-arabia","tag-close","tag-drones","tag-faces","tag-houthis","tag-nightmare","tag-pipeline","tag-route","tag-saudi","tag-saudi-arabia","tag-scenario","tag-threatenshipping"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Saudi Arabia faces nightmare scenario as Houthis threaten\u00a0shipping route and drones close pipeline - Finance News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4404\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"zh_CN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Saudi Arabia faces nightmare scenario as Houthis threaten\u00a0shipping route and drones close pipeline - Finance News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It\u2019s a nightmare scenario for &hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4404\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Finance News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-12T15:37:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2293940412-e1789226061123.jpg?w=2048\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"\u4f5c\u8005\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"\u9884\u8ba1\u9605\u8bfb\u65f6\u95f4\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 \u5206\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4404#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4404\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e\"},\"headline\":\"Saudi Arabia faces nightmare scenario as Houthis threaten\u00a0shipping route and drones close pipeline\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-12T15:37:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4404\"},\"wordCount\":1117,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4404#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/GettyImages-2293940412-e1789226061123.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Arabia\",\"close\",\"Drones\",\"faces\",\"Houthis\",\"nightmare\",\"pipeline\",\"route\",\"Saudi\",\"Saudi Arabia\",\"scenario\",\"threatenshipping\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Finance News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4404#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4404\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4404\",\"name\":\"Saudi Arabia faces nightmare scenario as Houthis threaten\u00a0shipping route and drones close pipeline - Finance News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4404#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4404#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/GettyImages-2293940412-e1789226061123.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-12T15:37:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4404#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4404\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4404#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/GettyImages-2293940412-e1789226061123.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/GettyImages-2293940412-e1789226061123.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4404#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u9996\u9875\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Saudi Arabia faces nightmare scenario as Houthis threaten\u00a0shipping route and drones close pipeline\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/\",\"name\":\"Finance News\",\"description\":\"Just another Finance News site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Saudi Arabia faces nightmare scenario as Houthis threaten\u00a0shipping route and drones close pipeline - Finance News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4404","og_locale":"zh_CN","og_type":"article","og_title":"Saudi Arabia faces nightmare scenario as Houthis threaten\u00a0shipping route and drones close pipeline - Finance News","og_description":"It\u2019s a nightmare scenario for &hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4404","og_site_name":"Finance News","article_published_time":"2026-09-12T15:37:04+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2293940412-e1789226061123.jpg?w=2048","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"\u4f5c\u8005":"admin","\u9884\u8ba1\u9605\u8bfb\u65f6\u95f4":"6 \u5206"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4404#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4404"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#\/schema\/person\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e"},"headline":"Saudi Arabia faces nightmare scenario as Houthis threaten\u00a0shipping route and drones close pipeline","datePublished":"2026-09-12T15:37:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4404"},"wordCount":1117,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4404#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2293940412-e1789226061123.jpg","keywords":["Arabia","close","Drones","faces","Houthis","nightmare","pipeline","route","Saudi","Saudi Arabia","scenario","threatenshipping"],"articleSection":["Finance News"],"inLanguage":"zh-Hans","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4404#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4404","url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4404","name":"Saudi Arabia faces nightmare scenario as Houthis threaten\u00a0shipping route and drones close pipeline - Finance News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4404#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4404#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2293940412-e1789226061123.jpg","datePublished":"2026-09-12T15:37:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#\/schema\/person\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4404#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"zh-Hans","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4404"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"zh-Hans","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4404#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2293940412-e1789226061123.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2293940412-e1789226061123.jpg","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4404#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u9996\u9875","item":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Saudi Arabia faces nightmare scenario as Houthis threaten\u00a0shipping route and drones close pipeline"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/","name":"Finance News","description":"Just another Finance News site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"zh-Hans"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#\/schema\/person\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e","name":"admin","url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}