Iran offers two-day Hormuz reopening while Trump keeps strike optionDemocrats favoured as US midterms open after Michigan Senate endorsementRussian bombs kill 18 at Zaporizhzhia aid site as Oleshky truce is disputedHormuz tanker fires continue as IMO says attack count is understatedEbola deaths pass 5,300 as Congo's fatality rate tops 50%Oil hits two-week low on Iran talks as Gulf growth and Europe's gas buffers strainHouthis reported near Aden as fighting spreads to al-Jawf and Saudi airportsSpain train crash toll holds at 69 as investigators cite chain of faults and polls turn against SánchezMarvell agrees $115bn all-stock takeover of LumentumNewborn among 15 killed as Myanmar military strikes maternity clinic and schoolAnthropic discloses revenue surge and $895bn commitments ahead of IPOSupermarket freezers overheated across Europe weeks after French attackBank of England and RBA expected to hike as ECB and BOJ signal tighteningAt least 19 dead in Venezuelan army attack on Colombian rebel campIndia evacuates thousands ahead of second cyclone in a weekFrench school protests resume on smaller scale as German unions launch strikesEisenkot gains backing as Netanyahu questions Israeli election resultIsrael ends 10-day Hebron siege as UN logs record settler attacksOracle and Alphabet tap bond markets as AI selloff easesTrump administration asks Supreme Court to block 20,000 California mail ballotsTigray fighting pushes Ethiopia's health system toward collapse as Sudan complains to UN about dronesNine dead after Learjet crash in Palm Beach, FloridaChina steps up Gulf diplomacy as Xi hosts Oman's sultan and Wang Yi meets Iranian officialPoland's Constitutional Tribunal clash deepens as EU Commission backs parliament's right to appoint judgesBinance customers withdraw billions after record hack linked to North KoreaUS pushes Russian gas deliveries to Europe, Kremlin says transit not possible nowUN envoy expects Sudan transition talks with RSF within weeksBelgian PM De Wever offers resignation after budget talks failChina launches $15bn swap facility to support stocks after sell-offJapan weighs near-doubling of defence spending over five yearsIotova wins Bulgarian presidential runoffHackers send false nuclear warnings through Russian and Ukrainian alert appsSouth Korean sergeant dies at frontline unit as North Korea vows faster nuclear buildupOpenAI signs deals with ADNOC, G42 and Abu Dhabi as Altman travels to UAEIsraeli strikes kill at least three in Gaza despite ceasefireWestern Sahara refugees face uncertain future as UN mission MINURSO endsBolivia declares drought emergency as super El Niño hits Peru's fisheriesBangladesh garment workers block highway as wage protests enter third dayTrump removes South Africa from AGOA trade programmeIran offers two-day Hormuz reopening while Trump keeps strike optionDemocrats favoured as US midterms open after Michigan Senate endorsementRussian bombs kill 18 at Zaporizhzhia aid site as Oleshky truce is disputedHormuz tanker fires continue as IMO says attack count is understatedEbola deaths pass 5,300 as Congo's fatality rate tops 50%Oil hits two-week low on Iran talks as Gulf growth and Europe's gas buffers strainHouthis reported near Aden as fighting spreads to al-Jawf and Saudi airportsSpain train crash toll holds at 69 as investigators cite chain of faults and polls turn against SánchezMarvell agrees $115bn all-stock takeover of LumentumNewborn among 15 killed as Myanmar military strikes maternity clinic and schoolAnthropic discloses revenue surge and $895bn commitments ahead of IPOSupermarket freezers overheated across Europe weeks after French attackBank of England and RBA expected to hike as ECB and BOJ signal tighteningAt least 19 dead in Venezuelan army attack on Colombian rebel campIndia evacuates thousands ahead of second cyclone in a weekFrench school protests resume on smaller scale as German unions launch strikesEisenkot gains backing as Netanyahu questions Israeli election resultIsrael ends 10-day Hebron siege as UN logs record settler attacksOracle and Alphabet tap bond markets as AI selloff easesTrump administration asks Supreme Court to block 20,000 California mail ballotsTigray fighting pushes Ethiopia's health system toward collapse as Sudan complains to UN about dronesNine dead after Learjet crash in Palm Beach, FloridaChina steps up Gulf diplomacy as Xi hosts Oman's sultan and Wang Yi meets Iranian officialPoland's Constitutional Tribunal clash deepens as EU Commission backs parliament's right to appoint judgesBinance customers withdraw billions after record hack linked to North KoreaUS pushes Russian gas deliveries to Europe, Kremlin says transit not possible nowUN envoy expects Sudan transition talks with RSF within weeksBelgian PM De Wever offers resignation after budget talks failChina launches $15bn swap facility to support stocks after sell-offJapan weighs near-doubling of defence spending over five yearsIotova wins Bulgarian presidential runoffHackers send false nuclear warnings through Russian and Ukrainian alert appsSouth Korean sergeant dies at frontline unit as North Korea vows faster nuclear buildupOpenAI signs deals with ADNOC, G42 and Abu Dhabi as Altman travels to UAEIsraeli strikes kill at least three in Gaza despite ceasefireWestern Sahara refugees face uncertain future as UN mission MINURSO endsBolivia declares drought emergency as super El Niño hits Peru's fisheriesBangladesh garment workers block highway as wage protests enter third dayTrump removes South Africa from AGOA trade programme
Bota
Symbolic image: Houthis strike Saudi airport as Indian ship sinks off YemenSymbolic image

Houthis strike Saudi airport as Indian ship sinks off Yemen

6 sources

The Houthi campaign against Saudi Arabia widened on Tuesday, with a claimed drone strike inside the kingdom and an Indian-flagged vessel sunk off Yemen. Saudi crude is being pushed away from the Red Sea.

What happened

  • The Houthis said a drone hit a "sensitive target" at Najran airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, 4 August.
  • The Hindu reports service at the airport was suspended after the attack.
  • The MSV Faize Noore Oliya sank south of Hodeida the same day; Yemen's coast guard rescued all 14 crew to Mokha.
  • Ship tracking data released a day earlier showed six Saudi supertankers leaving the Gulf of Aden for Durban, Algoa Bay and Port Elizabeth.
  • Aramco said it is studying an expanded East-West pipeline and new export routes; the Yanbu terminal runs at its 7 million barrel capacity.

The view from outside

TASS, citing Bloomberg, reports Washington privately discouraged a major Saudi retaliation, fearing a closure of the Bab el-Mandeb strait. Breitbart notes Russian exporters are rerouting too, citing a Panama-flagged tanker with 100,000 tonnes of naphtha that turned away in late July.

What could happen next

  • Who fired on the Indian vessel is unconfirmed: Yemeni officials blamed the Houthis, who did not claim that attack.
  • Aramco's remaining Mediterranean route via Suez adds 20 to 25 days; full output depends on the Strait of Hormuz reopening.
  • Breitbart reports the Houthis floated charging fees for safe passage through Bab el-Mandeb, modelled on Iran's Hormuz scheme.
How the camps see it

  • Houthis (Ansar Allah): Say the Najran strike answered Saudi drone flights over Saada and Hajjah, and that their 20 July maritime blockade responds to a Saudi blockade of Yemen.

  • Saudi Arabia: Seeks de-escalation through Oman while preparing for war, strikes what it calls Houthi military facilities and says it will protect commercial shipping.

Also involved

IndiaUnited StatesIran

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