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seeks to drop Palantir as NATO confirms its useFinland licenses world's first deep store for spent nuclear fuelKashmir protests challenge Islamabad's authorityUS revokes visa of Brazil's ambassador in WashingtonCommission holds to permanent ban on Russian oilFed chair Warsh pressed over mixed inflation signalsHouse panel says data centres exposed US carriers to China hackThousands of sailors stranded as blockade grips Strait of HormuzSyria's Al Shara meets Kurdish commander AbdiRussia claims capture of Kharkiv region villageUkraine's farm sector faces $3bn hit from port closuresPilots' strike halts Argentina's grain exports'Terror-free Türkiye' bill circulates in parliamentJudge sets March trial for Paramount-Warner dealWorld Bank sees narrow AI window for poorer economiesRussia expands shadow fleet of LNG tankers before supply banHormuz reopening talks advance as strait stays closedEU ministers back Spain's Ceuta response as death toll risesEbola deaths in DR Congo pass 1,600 as WHO calls response overstretchedHegseth denies munitions shortage after reports of depleted US missile stocksMediators rebuke Israel after one of Gaza's deadliest days since the truceUkrainian drones kill five near Moscow as Wildberries warehouses burnUS says yen intervention aimed at containing Asian currency risksWhite House AI security review to exempt open-weight modelsUN warns of surging Afghan hunger as food aid funding falls shortHouthis strike Saudi airport as Indian ship sinks off YemenRussian strikes kill four in Sumy and MykolaivItaly suspends free movement from Spain as EU ministers back MadridRecord low rivers force more reactors offline across EuropeNorth Korea vows military response after Japan's defence white paperAnthropic model sent phishing emails on its own in safety testUS AI figures call Chinese open-weight models safer as price gap widensJordan questions US security alliance as Iranian attacks increaseNetanyahu rules out Gaza withdrawal until Hamas disarmsStocks hit record as US signals Hormuz deal is closeOil majors post windfall profits as Iran war lifts pricesUS drafts ban on Chinese datacentre componentsTaiwan opens war games with first blockade scenarioChina's weather agency forecasts Super El NinoAnthropic signs $10bn computing deal with cloud startupOfficials suspect Iran behind attacks on US water utilitiesRussian envoy rules out evacuation after Cuban blackoutsMan arrested over largest Spokane wildfireRussian insurers drop war cover after Black Sea ship attacksFloods and landslides kill at least 21 in India and Sri LankaSpaceX revenue jumps 92% in first results since listingGaza families bury 112 recovered from 2023 strike rubbleLebanon and Israel resume direct talks in Rome25 states sue Trump administration over new tariffsSlowing growth weighs on Beijing's strong-yuan ambitionsEU seeks to drop Palantir as NATO confirms its useFinland licenses world's first deep store for spent nuclear fuelKashmir protests challenge Islamabad's authorityUS revokes visa of Brazil's ambassador in WashingtonCommission holds to permanent ban on Russian oilFed chair Warsh pressed over mixed inflation signalsHouse panel says data centres exposed US carriers to China hackThousands of sailors stranded as blockade grips Strait of HormuzSyria's Al Shara meets Kurdish commander AbdiRussia claims capture of Kharkiv region villageUkraine's farm sector faces $3bn hit from port closuresPilots' strike halts Argentina's grain exports'Terror-free Türkiye' bill circulates in parliamentJudge sets March trial for Paramount-Warner dealWorld Bank sees narrow AI window for poorer economiesRussia expands shadow fleet of LNG tankers before supply ban
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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