{"id":223893,"date":"2026-09-12T07:30:39","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T07:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/strikes-shut-down-key-saudi-pipeline-as-iran-backed-houthis-tighten-grip-on-crucial-shipping-lane-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T07:30:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T07:30:39","slug":"strikes-shut-down-key-saudi-pipeline-as-iran-backed-houthis-tighten-grip-on-crucial-shipping-lane-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/strikes-shut-down-key-saudi-pipeline-as-iran-backed-houthis-tighten-grip-on-crucial-shipping-lane-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Strikes shut down key Saudi pipeline as Iran-backed Houthis tighten grip on crucial shipping lane – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Houthi<\/a> rebels effectively completed a rapid push to take control <\/a>of Yemen\u2019s Red Sea <\/a>coastline on Friday, tightening their grip on one of the world\u2019s most important shipping routes and delivering a dramatic boost to their backers in Iran.
At the same time, strikes inside Saudi Arabia forced the shutdown of a critical oil pipeline, the country\u2019s energy ministry confirmed<\/a> Friday.
Saudi Arabia said drones launched from Iraq attacked its East-West pipeline, but said it would not retaliate for now following a request from Iraq\u2019s prime minister, while reserving the right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty, security and critical facilities, according to a Saudi foreign ministry statement.
An Iraqi military commander was dismissed early on Saturday after investigations confirmed the latest drone attacks targeting Saudi Arabia originated from Iraq, according to a statement by Iraq\u2018s prime minister\u2019s office.
Houthi forces captured Perim, an island in the middle of the vital Bab el Mandeb Strait, several news agencies reported, citing multiple sources. A day earlier, the Houthis captured the historic port city of Mocha.
That was followed by an advance on the strategic coastal town of Dhubab and the apparent withdrawal of forces from the Saudi-backed, internationally recognized Yemeni government, from Perim, also known as Mayun.
The U.S. military is helping its Saudi counterparts to develop and coordinate targets inside Yemen, according to a U.S. official and a person familiar with the matter, after Saudi Arabia vowed a firm response to hostilities.
The Houthis and the opposing coalition have been fighting a civil war since 2014. The conflict has simmered for years but erupted into intense fighting again in recent weeks, raising concerns of a return to all-out war and posing a serious new threat to the global economy.
Effective Houthi control over Bab el Mandeb, a gateway to the Red Sea trade route that links Europe and Asia, could further imperil oil exports while granting Iran powerful new leverage in its war with the United States.
Saudi Arabia, the world\u2019s biggest oil exporter, has had to rely on the Red Sea route given the disruption to the Strait of Hormuz, through which some 20% of the world\u2019s oil used to pass, since the U.S. and Israel waged war on the Islamic Republic in late February.
If the Houthis are similarly able to threaten shipping along the Bab el Mandeb Strait, it could reduce oil supplies through another key waterway and deepen the world\u2019s energy crisis.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is urging President Donald Trump to take military action against the Houthis, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The president and the Crown Prince have discussed the recent escalation by the Houthis at least twice in the last 24 hours, this person said.
So far, Trump has declined to conduct military strikes against the Houthis, but has agreed to provide military assistance, such as helping the Saudis to develop targeting and sharing of information, the person familiar with the matter and a U.S. official said.
The discussions between President Trump and the Saudi Crown Prince were first reported by Axios.
The Houthis have recently attacked oil facilities in Saudi Arabia but on Friday the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement<\/a> that the drones targeting the East-West pipeline had originated from Iraq.
The Saudi Energy Ministry confirmed Friday that it had shut down the kingdom\u2019s East-West oil pipeline after \u201cmultiple attacks.\u201d This has been a key alternative for Saudi exports that can\u2019t transit the Strait of Hormuz.
The ministry\u2019s statement said the pipeline was \u201cshut down as a precautionary measure,\u201d but satellite imagery on Friday showed a 60-mile smoke plume along its route, while fire detection data showed high-temperature readings at several sites where infrastructure for the underground pipeline is located.
The Saudi Energy Ministry said the attacks \u201cresulted in a number of injuries,\u201d adding that its teams were \u201ctaking the necessary measures to secure the pipeline and assess its safety.\u201d
Global oil prices appeared set to end the week above $100 a barrel for the first time since mid-May, after the dramatic developments.
Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at King\u2019s College London\u2019s School of Security Studies, warned that the risk of the conflict deepening had \u201cincreased substantially.\u201d
\u201cThe important change is that the Houthis are now attacking both pillars of Saudi security simultaneously: southern Saudi territory and the Kingdom\u2019s Red Sea strategic depth,\u201d he said in written comments before the Houthis\u2019 reported capture of Perim. \u201cRiyadh still desperately wants to avoid another 2015-style war. But its room for restraint is narrowing,\u201d he said.
A statement issued by Houthi forces on Friday said that \u201cmaritime navigation is safe for all companies except for Saudi vessels,\u201d vowing to strike Saudi targets \u201cuntil the aggression stops and the blockade against our dear people is lifted.\u201d
The statement said that nine aircraft had been shot down by Houthi forces, with hundreds of opposing troops \u201ckilled, captured or wounded\u201d in the rapid advance, and a number of prisoners \u201cliberated.\u201d
Krieg emphasized that while the Houthis appeared to be taking swift control of the Red Sea coastline in Yemen, the idea that they might gain \u201cfull control\u201d of Bab el Mandab should be approached \u201ccautiously.\u201d
\u201cEven control of Mokha, Dhubab and Perim would not give the Houthis sovereign control of the entire strait because the western littoral remains outside Yemen,\u201d he said. \u201cIt would, however, give them a dramatically stronger ability to contest, threaten and potentially deny commercial use of the waterway.\u201d
The result, he said, would \u201cconstitute an extraordinary shock to the global trading system.\u201d
Amr al-Bidh, from the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a political and military group in Yemen, blamed this in part on the Saudi-backed government forces\u2019 focus on pushing back STC from areas it expanded its control to last year. The STC and Saudi-backed forces had been fighting the Houthis together in the country\u2019s north, but that coalition descended into infighting.
\u201cWe are also concerned about the situation because they might come to the south, and we have to defend the south from them,\u201d he said in a video interview Friday.
The growing crisis was \u201cnot just about oil,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s about families who are displaced and moving from one place because of because of this war.\u201d
The United Nations\u2019 International Organization for Migration warned<\/a> on Friday at least 46,000 people have so far been displaced in Yemen since fighting escalated last week.
It said that figure spanned the West Coast and Taiz governorates as of Thursday, with the numbers of those displaced \u201calarmingly rising by the hour.\u201d
The organization called on all parties to the conflict to \u201cguarantee safe humanitarian access and to protect civilians, aid workers and assets on the ground.\u201d
Chantal Da Silva reports on world news for NBC News Digital and is based in London.
Abigail Williams is a producer and reporter for NBC News covering the State Department.
Gordon Lubold is a national security reporter for NBC News.
Monica Alba is a White House correspondent for NBC News.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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news AlertsThere are no new alerts at this timeHouthi rebels effectively completed a rapid push to take control of Yemen\u2019s Red Sea coastline on Friday, tightening their grip on one of the world\u2019s most important shipping routes and delivering a dramatic boost to their backers in Iran.At the same time, strikes inside Saudi Arabia forced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":223894,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-223893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}