Image for representation purposes only Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi Group announced a ban on Israeli Ships operating in the Red Sea and also launched missile attacks at Tel Aviv. Though earlier blockades by the group led to shipping disruptions, experts warn that this campaign is different and more dangerous for the oil market due to a shift in the region’s geopolitics and the ongoing US-Iran war. When the Houthis first attacked ships in 2023, the global energy markets adjusted to the situation since oil from the Persian Gulf was exported through other sea lanes. Shipping companies and suppliers rerouted tankers away from the affected Bab al-Mandab Strait and sent them through a longer route around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. However, this time, even alternative shipping routes are not available as Iran has closed Hormuz to shipping, and even the United States has imposed a blockade on the strategic waterway, preventing ships from arriving or leaving Iranian ports. Since the critical energy chokepoint, which handles one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas exports, has been closed, most of the Gulf’s oil is trapped in the region, creating a global shortage and soaring oil prices. In an attempt to stabilise oil and gas prices, Saudi Arabia has depended heavily on its East-West Pipeline. It has diverted more than 70% of its usual crude exports across the desert to western ports on the Red Sea, especially Yanbu. This has atleast helped in some way to keep the global energy prices from skyrocketing during the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. The Houthis’ renewed focus on the Red Sea jeopardises this safety net. Since Saudi oil must now be loaded onto tankers inside the Red Sea itself, the ships are vulnerable to the extended ban. If Houthis target these ships or western Saudi port facilities, it could shut down the output of the critical East-West pipeline. Iranian commanders have warned that the Houthis can completely “choke off” the Red Sea, and the group