Houthi Rebels Threaten Global Fuel Supplies with Control of Bab al-Mandeb Strait

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have reached a critical position to threaten Saudi Arabia's massive East-West pipeline and the world's largest oil processing plant, Abqaiq.

This escalation of risk to global fuel supplies comes as the Houthis' lightning advance through the Yemeni coast has allowed them to control the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

The strait is a crucial waterway where $1 trillion worth of goods pass through each year, including 4.6 million barrels of Saudi crude exports per day.

A closure of the strait would force oil and commercial tankers to divert north through Egypt's Suez Canal, adding weeks to their journeys.