Red Sea Chokepoint Falls as Saudi Oil Pipeline Is Hit

The Red Sea has just become another major flashpoint in the Iran war. Houthi forces have seized Mayyun Island in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, giving the Iran-aligned movement effective control of Yemen's entire Red Sea coastline and putting one of the world's most important shipping chokepoints under direct threat.

At almost the same time, Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline was hit by a drone attack traced to Iraqi territory, forcing the kingdom to shut down the crucial route designed to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. With both major maritime chokepoints in the region under pressure, the economic stakes of the war are rising rapidly.

In this episode of Epic Fury, we examine the Houthi takeover of the Bab al-Mandeb, the attack on Saudi Arabia's oil infrastructure, the fallout inside Iraq, and the growing role of Iran-aligned militias across the region. We also examine why Washington has decided against direct military strikes on the Houthis, despite Saudi pressure for US intervention.

The episode also covers the latest escalation between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, the delay to US-mediated Israel-Lebanon talks, Iran's continuing strategy through its regional allies, rising oil and diesel prices, new US inflation data, and the implications for global energy markets.

With the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb simultaneously under hostile pressure, the conflict is no longer simply a war between the United States, Israel and Iran. It is increasingly becoming a wider struggle over the world's critical energy and shipping routes.

This is Epic Fury: The US-Iran War Podcast — your daily briefing on the Iran war, Middle East conflict, US military operations, Iran, Israel, the Houthis, Hezbollah, oil markets, geopolitics and the global consequences of the conflict.

Subscribe to Epic Fury for the next episode as this rapidly evolving war moves into another critical phase.