Houthi Siege on Oil Routes Puts Saudi Arabia in Worst Crisis

[Anchor]

With the Houthi rebels seizing the entrance to the Red Sea following the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia's crude oil supply has dropped significantly, causing global oil prices to continue rising. Saudi Arabia, whose oil export routes are blocked, is responding with everything it has, but is failing to break the momentum of the pro-Iran Houthi rebels.

Reporter Yu Deok-gi has the details.

[Reporter]

On the 15th local time, Yemen's pro-Iran Houthi rebels fiercely attack Yemeni government forces backed by Saudi Arabia in the strategic stronghold of Al-Jawf.

[Yemeni Houthi Rebels: By the grace and power of God, enemy vehicles are going up in flames.]

The Houthis also claimed to have intercepted a Saudi F-15 fighter jet.

[Yahya Saree / Houthi Military Spokesperson: With the help and grace of God, we were able to shoot down a Saudi Arabian F-15 fighter jet using domestically produced weapons.]

Driven by the unstoppable advance of the Houthi rebels, more than 100,000 refugees have been displaced within Yemen.

[Yemeni Refugee: We are in a state of extreme malnutrition, with no water and no shelter. There are no toilets, no food.]

Having seized the area around the entrance to the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia's oil export route, the Houthis are launching drones and missiles at various parts of Saudi Arabia, including the Islamic holy sites of Mecca and Jeddah.

After asking for support from the United States as well as its military ally Pakistan and being refused, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman urgently visited Egypt across the Red Sea to ask for help.

Although Saudi Arabia purchases advanced U.S. weapons with an annual defense budget of 112.36 trillion won, which amounts to 1.7 times that of South Korea, it is evaluated as a paper tiger due to low troop training levels and a fractured, royal-centric leadership.

Having won President Trump's favor with massive U.S. investments reaching 1 trillion dollars, or 1,000 trillion won, Trump, facing the midterm elections, is turning a blind eye to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's repeated requests to attack the Houthis.

Saudi Arabia is facing the worst security crisis since its founding in 1932.

Fearing additional damage to oil facilities and an escalation of the conflict, the country is being driven into a difficult position where it cannot launch an all-out war against the Houthi rebels.

(Video Editing: Chae Chul-ho, Design: Im Chan-hyuk, Source: X@HormuzReport)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.