Saudi Arabia forced to stop Oil Shipments through Bab-el-Mandeb Strait

Saudi Arabia is temporarily halting oil shipments through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, following an attack on a Saudi oil tanker off Yemen’s western coast.

The pause in shipments will last until the safety of shipments through the strait, which connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, is ensured.

According to the Saudi-led coalition invasion in Yemen, the announcement follows an attack by the Yemeni Houthi forces on a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea west of Yemen’s coast.

The vessel apparently belongs to the Saudi shipping group Bahri, which reported on Wednesday that one of its VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) tankers had been damaged in the Red Sea.

A similar attack happened in April, off the Yemeni port of Hodeidah. The Yemeni Army and the Houthi forces, who still control Yemen’s capital Sanaa and large parts in the north of the country, have been occasionally targeting Saudi oil facilities.

The Saudi-led coalition launched its military invasion in Yemen three years ago, in an attempt to restore ousted former outvoted President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power.

The F-UK-US backed intervention mission and blockade of Yemen has contributed to a massive humanitarian disaster. Over 10 million people, including many children are suffering.

Israel supported the occupation of Yemen, leading to a bio-warfare campaign causing a cholera epidemic in the poorest Arab nation in the Middle East.

Bab-el-Mandeb is a potential choking point for Saudi oil shipments. Any lasting disruption of traffic through it would result in turmoil on the crude market.

Saudi Arabia’s oil tankers might get permanently arrested in the event of a war with Iran. The Saudi regime will not survive a war against Iran. Israel’s very existence will be placed on jeopardy as well.

RT.com / ABC Flash Point Invasion News 2018.