Global oil shipments have been thrown into disarray after Saudi Arabia shut down its East-West pipeline and attacks intensified near the Bab el Mandeb strait. Brent crude is holding above $105 a barrel, with higher fuel and shipping costs now being felt across Europe and beyond.
The latest escalation in the Middle East began on 28 January, when the United States and Israel carried out airstrikes on several Iranian cities. Iran has responded with military and non-military tactics aimed at controlling oil exports from the region. The result is a deliberate squeeze on the basic routes connecting Asian and European energy markets.
The Strait of Hormuz sits at the center of this crisis. This narrow channel handles about a third of all seaborne crude and a similar share of global fertilizer shipments. A Washington-based report says Iran is now treating Hormuz as a toll booth, forcing ships to pay for passage and presenting this as the new normal. The impact reaches beyond fuel prices: disrupted supply chains are also affecting food costs.
Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, built in the 1980s to bypass Hormuz, runs 1,201 kilometers from Abqaiq to Yanbu on the Red Sea. With a capacity of 7 million barrels per day, it has been a basic export route to Europe and Asia, with shipments also reaching the US without passing through the Persian Gulf. In March 2026, the pipeline reached full capacity, increasing oil flows through the Red Sea by 21 percent compared with February. But on 11 June, Saudi authorities shut it down after a series of drone attacks launched from Iraq by pro-Iranian militias. The region was left with even fewer safe export options.
Reuters reports that the Saudi Ministry of Energy called the shutdown a "precautionary" step after the drone attacks. Riyadh and Baghdad both blamed drones launched from Iraq. The pipeline, about 1,200 kilometers long, had been moving 4-5 million barrels per day in recent months, or roughly 4-5% of global oil supply. Reuters also reports that oil stocks in Yanbu could sustain exports for only 5-7 days without the route being restored. The figures show how much Saudi Arabia and the wider market rely on the route.
Reuters reports that, following the pipeline attack and the Houthis’ increased control over areas near the entrance to the Red Sea, some tankers have had to bypass Hormuz along the coast of Oman under US Navy protection. The detour is adding to delivery times and costs.
The Bab el Mandeb strait, which links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, has also become a flashpoint. Yemen’s Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, have stepped up attacks on shipping and Saudi infrastructure, including Aramco facilities and the Khamis Mushait air base. The rebels recently seized the island of Perim, which splits the strait into two channels. That gives them control over a chokepoint handling 12 percent of global maritime trade and 30 percent of container traffic. The US Energy Information Administration says 8 percent of the world’s liquefied natural gas and 11 percent of seaborne oil pass through Bab el Mandeb each year.
With the Houthis now holding Perim, the risk to shipping has jumped. The Red Sea route is impressive to Europe’s access to Asian markets, and only the largest supertankers can avoid it by detouring around the Cape of Good Hope. The disruption has already pushed up gasoline prices and shipping costs. A prolonged crisis could bring wider economic fallout.
The effects reach beyond the Middle East. The squeeze on oil and gas flows is being felt in Spain and across Europe, where energy security and price stability face renewed pressure. The crisis echoes other recent regional shocks, such as the Ceuta migrant standoff, when local disruptions quickly became national problems.
Iran’s strategy of targeting oil routes has upended the usual patterns of global energy trade. Hormuz and Bab el Mandeb are at risk, while the East-West pipeline is shut, raising the threat of further price spikes and economic fallout for every country that relies on Middle Eastern energy. For Spain and its European neighbors, energy security is fragile when the world’s basic supply lines can be disrupted so quickly.
