New Attack Reported in Strait of Hormuz as Saudi Pipeline Shutdown Deepens Oil Supply Fears

A fresh report of an attack on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz has heightened concerns over the security of global energy supplies, after Saudi Arabia shut down a key oil pipeline following a drone strike.

The British navy-affiliated agency UKMTO said it received a report of a projectile striking a vessel as it transited the strait. The extent of the damage and the condition of the crew were not immediately known.

The warning came a day after Saudi Arabia said it had temporarily closed its East-West pipeline as a precaution. Both Baghdad and Riyadh said the drone attack originated in Iraq, where Iranian-backed militias operate. No group has claimed responsibility for the pipeline strikes.

Satellite imagery showed black smoke rising from an area of the pipeline south of Medina. The Saudi Foreign Ministry said the attack caused some injuries and damage that was still being assessed, without specifying the impact on exports.

The 1,200-km (745-mile) pipeline across the Arabian Peninsula has been the main outlet for Middle East oil over the past six months, as the Strait of Hormuz has been largely shut by the conflict. It had been moving 4 million to 5 million barrels per day, or 4% to 5% of global supply, shielding Saudi Arabia from the worst of the disruption that has hit other Gulf exporters.

Oil markets have been volatile. Brent crude surged back above $100 a barrel over the past week, and the retail price of diesel in the United States topped a record $6 a gallon, as the United States and Iran exchanged fire on tankers and Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen advanced along the Red Sea, threatening another major oil route.

Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, phoned U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday to request American military help against the Houthis, according to three sources. He was told Washington would not intervene directly for now but would assist with intelligence. Trump, visiting Ireland for a golf tournament, confirmed the call and said Iran was probably to blame for the pipeline attack. He also said the Houthis had contacted his administration to ask that Washington not become directly involved.

Separately, four Yemeni government sources said the Houthis seized the strategic island of Perim on Friday in the middle of the Bab el-Mandeb strait, the "Gate of Tears" at the mouth of the Red Sea. On Saturday, the Saudi Civil Defence said a projectile fired by the Houthis injured two people in the Jazan region and damaged several buildings, including a mosque.

Diplomatic efforts have shown little momentum. No talks have been held between the United States and Iran since a June agreement collapsed within weeks. Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, said in a post on X on Saturday that dialogue was useless unless Washington accepted all of Iran's conditions.

Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Friday that Tehran would attend a meeting with Gulf Arab states in Oman on Monday to discuss the future of the Strait of Hormuz. A senior Iranian official, speaking anonymously, played down the chances of a breakthrough, saying the meeting was called at Oman's initiative and was not expected to produce a signed agreement. According to Tasnim news agency, an agreement on routes through the strait between Iran and Oman will be presented at the meeting, which Iraq will also attend, but the strait will not reopen unless seven conditions conveyed by Iran to the United States are met. Iran wants its control of the strait recognised so it can collect fees from ships using it, a demand Washington rejects. Oman, which controls the opposite bank, says it is negotiating with the agreement of other regional states.