Houthi Attacks Push Up Global Fuel Prices as Yemen Civil War Escalates

The Houthi rebels in Yemen have escalated their attacks on Saudi oil facilities and tankers, pushing up global fuel prices and rattling world markets. The Iran-backed Houthis stormed down the Red Sea coast last week, capturing key maritime chokepoints and threatening Saudi Arabia's oil exports.

In recent days, there has been heavy fighting in and around Marib, a central city in an oil-rich province of the same name. The Houthis also threaten the western city of Taiz, a front line for much of the conflict.

The Houthis' biggest land grab in years has reignited Yemen's 12-year civil war, which has killed over 150,000 people and pushed the country to the brink of famine.

Regional mediators have sprung into action, but a diplomatic agreement appears unlikely without some kind of breakthrough in the wider Iran-US conflict. The US wants the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a deal to roll back Tehran's nuclear program, while Iran seeks the lifting of a blockade and sanctions that have devastated its economy.