Saudi Arabia builds 14-nation Red Sea coalition vs Houthis
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- Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Defense convened nearly 50 countries in Riyadh to form a multinational maritime defense coalition, with 14 nations — including Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, and Nigeria — affirming their support.
- The coalition will focus on securing shipping routes through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden, which transport Saudi oil exports.
- Iran-backed Houthi rebels threatened last week to enforce a naval blockade against Saudi vessels in the Red Sea, in response to a strike on Sanaa International Airport that the Saudi-backed Yemeni government claimed responsibility for.
- Red Sea shipping has slowed sharply, with only 11 cargo vessels passing through the strait — the lowest number in months — according to analytics platform Kpler.
- Brent crude oil dipped to more than $90 a barrel on Monday, having jumped to around $101 a barrel the prior week as the Houthi threats disrupted trade.
- The Red Sea's strategic importance has grown since the U.S.-Iran conflict began in February, which caused partial and full closures of the Strait of Hormuz that handles a fifth of the world's oil.
Why it matters: Saudi Arabia is mobilizing a broad international coalition to protect oil shipping lanes that carry a significant share of global energy supplies, with Houthi attacks already cutting Red Sea traffic to its lowest level in months and pushing Brent crude above $90 a barrel. The move deepens Saudi-led security architecture in the region at a moment when the U.S.-Iran conflict has rerouted maritime trade away from the Strait of Hormuz.
