Key facts
- Commodity vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz fell to single digits per day.
- US forces redirected 101 commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz as of Sept. 13.
- Oil prices rose sharply, with Brent crude above $107 a barrel.
- Saudi Arabia faces potential loss of 4% of global supply if Red Sea pipeline doesn't restart.
- Nearly 86,000 people displaced by renewed fighting in Yemen.
- Two Palestinians killed and 13 injured in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City.
Tensions in the Middle East have escalated, leading to a significant increase in oil prices and a reduction in commodity vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. A planned meeting in Oman between Gulf countries and Iran to discuss the strait was postponed. Yemen's Houthi rebels reported over 50 Saudi strikes in 24 hours following a drone and missile attack on a Saudi military base. The renewed conflict in Yemen has displaced nearly 86,000 people, while Yemeni forces claim to have recaptured Houthi-held sites in Taiz Governorate.
Israeli forces conducted incursions into southern Syria, and an airstrike in Gaza City killed two Palestinians and injured 13 others. Preliminary shiptracking data showed commodity vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz fell to single digits per day over the weekend, well below the 14-vessel daily average. As of September 13, US forces had redirected 101 commercial vessels in the strait as part of an ongoing naval blockade of Iran.
Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar threatened to revoke the citizenship of directors of an Israeli documentary about Gaza, accusing them of treason. Oil prices surged, with Brent crude exceeding $107 a barrel amid fears of supply disruptions. Saudi Arabia warned that it could run out of oil stocks for export if its major pipeline to the Red Sea is not restarted within days, potentially impacting 4% of global supply. Meanwhile, Iraq's foreign minister and his UAE counterpart discussed bilateral ties and regional security.