The Houthis have joined the Iran war, and the Red Sea workaround quietly keeping global oil prices from spiraling is now directly in the crosshairs

The Houthis have reportedly joined the wider Iran war, launching a missile attack on Israel on Saturday after weeks of threats. This follows a warning from Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency about a potential new “front” in the conflict, prompting the US government to renew its warnings about the Houthi threat to shipping. This puts the Red Sea, a crucial alternative route for global oil, directly at risk.

Since the Strait of Hormuz was largely shut down by the Iran war, the Red Sea has been an important alternative route for moving crude oil from Saudi Arabia to Asia. According to The Australian Financial Review, Saudi Arabia’s shipments through its Red Sea port of Yanbu have reached about 60% of its pre-war total oil exports. Many of those ships must pass Yemen and sail south through the Bab el-Mandeb strait to reach Asian customers, making this waterway critically important.

The Houthis, an Iran-backed militant group controlling much of Yemen, have been a threat to this waterway since late 2023, launching attacks on commercial and naval ships near the Bab el-Mandeb strait. This caused the biggest disruption to global trade since the Covid-19 pandemic. While there are no reports of new shipping attacks just yet, the group still poses a real danger to vessels in the Red Sea.

The Houthis are harder to destroy than most people think, and their weapons capability keeps growing

Despite years of bombardments from the US, Israel, the UK, and a Saudi-led coalition, the Houthis have not been destroyed, only weakened. They have regrouped and at least partially rearmed, tapping into tribal smuggling networks and commercial links to defense export hubs like China, beyond just Iran. They have also expanded efforts to assemble and manufacture their own weapons, and still control a significant portion of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, including the important port of Hodeidah.

Between November 2023 and June 2024, the Houthis targeted military and commercial ships over 190 times, according to the Pentagon. Many shipping firms chose to divert vessels around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, adding as much as 25% to journey times compared to the Red Sea and Suez Canal route. Daily traffic through the strait dropped from an average of about 75 vessels in 2023 to around 33 in 2025.

Officially known as Ansar Allah, or Followers of God, the Houthis seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in 2014, starting a civil war that still divides the country. They are part of the Zaidi branch of Shiite Islam and are strongly anti-West and anti-Israel.

The US and European Union have designated them as a terrorist group, and they receive training, technical expertise, and weapons, including drones and ballistic and cruise missiles, from Iran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been urging US diplomats to push countries against Iran amid what officials describe as an elevated risk of attack from the IRGC.

Houthis entering this regional war would almost certainly trigger a significant military response from Israel, the US, or both, and the Houthis are still recovering from previous bombing campaigns. Meanwhile, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are drafting Iran peace terms behind the scenes, though the US still cannot agree on who to negotiate with.

Despite this, their recent missile attack on Israel strongly suggests they have decided to step in, and Houthi leaders now know they can inflict even more economic pain, especially with the Strait of Hormuz largely shut.