Key Takeaways
The Saudis are forming a coalition to protect shipping in the Red Sea under attack by the Houthis, who are aligned with Iran and have been attacking maritime traffic.
The military coalition already has 14 members, and Saudi Arabia is asking around 50 nations to participate.
Its mission is to enhance maritime security, protect international maritime corridors and counter threats targeting maritime navigation and global trade.
The EU already has a pre-existing operation which predates the recent hostilities in the region, although it has not stopped Houthi attacks.
The Saudis were moving as much as 5 million barrels per day through the Red Sea’s Bab el-Mandeb Strait, but that has been reduced by about 20% since the Houthis began their attacks.
An alternative exists via the Suez Canal, but it is much more expensive, takes much longer, and requires much smaller tankers.
Saudi Arabia is forming a military coalition to protect shipping in the Red Sea as attacks by Iran’s proxy Houthis imperil an alternate route from the Strait of Hormuz for oil exports. Saudi Arabia has asked around 50 countries to join the new maritime coalition it would lead. So far, 14 countries have joined the coalition, including Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, Nigeria and several other Arab and African nations. Saudi Arabia also invited European countries and the United States to join. Some Western officials are hesitant until they obtain a better understanding of what membership entails and consult their governments. Saudi Arabia expects the number of participating countries to increase.
Member countries plan to participate in intelligence sharing, training exercises and maritime operations. A joint statement from the 14 countries indicated that the effort is “purely defensive and not targeting any country.” According to the Saudi defense ministry, the new coalition is “part of ongoing efforts to enhance maritime security, protect international maritime corridors and counter threats targeting maritime navigation and global trade.” It is unclear, however, how this coalition differs from the current European Union operation to protect Red Sea shipping, known as Aspides.
On July 20, the Houthis declared a blockade on Saudi vessels transiting the Red Sea, which has become an alternate for oil exports during the war with Iran after the Iranians effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. The Houthis attacked two Saudi vessels in the Red Sea and turned back other ships after warning them to avoid Saudi ports, disrupting shipping passing through the Bab El Mandeb Strait that links the southern end of the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean. With the Strait of Hormuz closed, the Saudis have partially mitigated the disruption to their oil exports by shipping oil through the East-West Pipeline, which traverses the country from the oilfields of Eastern Province to the Red Sea export terminal at Yanbu’ Al-Bahr. Since the blockade was declared, the number of Saudi and other ships passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, at the southern tip of the Red Sea, has decreased by about one-fifth.
The Houthis are a Shia tribal group from the far north of Yemen, based around the city of Saada with very close connections to Iran. During the war in Gaza, the Houthis gained notoriety by launching attacks on Israel as well as on ships in the Red Sea. Because the Houthis control territory near the Bab el-Mandeb, the militia can launch missiles and drones at vessels passing through the waterway. In 2023, a U.S.-led maritime operation called Operation Prosperity Guardian sought to deter those attacks, but Saudi Arabia did not publicly join that operation.
The Houthis did not initially participate in the war in Iran. But in July, renewed tensions between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia escalated. With the Strait of Hormuz off-limits and the blockade in the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia has limited options for exporting oil. Some ships in the Red Sea are going north to the Suez Canal. But that route is also vulnerable to attacks and adds about a month to voyages from Saudi Arabia to Asia, Saudi’s largest oil customer, increasing costs due to the longer voyage and transit fees for the Suez Canal. It also requires the use of much smaller tankers.
Tensions increased the week of July 27 when Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis attacked Saudi Arabia from Iraqi territory in coordination with Iraqi armed groups. The attacks from Iraq, for which the Houthis have taken responsibility, included strikes on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia’s eastern province, the kingdom’s main crude oil hub. Officials claim the operations were coordinated under the supervision of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In retaliation, on July 29, Saudi Arabia participated in joint airstrikes with the United States in Iraq, accusing Iran-backed militias there of attacking Saudi oil facilities.
The renewed fighting in the Middle East, following a lull in June, has raised oil prices. On July 31, Brent oil futures, the international benchmark, were up $1.14 or 1.3%, at $90.17 a barrel at 11:17 a.m. ET, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up $2.35, or 2.8%, to $85.94 a barrel. Additionally, although poised to initiate what President Trump stated would have been, “the biggest attack since World War II,” the announced attack on Iran was called off as the United States and Iran return to negotiations via Oman; although Iran’s Foreign Ministry has denied that discussions with the United States have resumed, the announcement calling off the strikes was reflected in a significant price drop in oil.
Conclusion
Due to the Houthis’ blockade of shipping in the Red Sea and their attacks on Saudi oil tankers there, Saudi Arabia has called for a coalition to protect shipping in the Red Sea. The Saudis have invited around 50 countries to participate, and 14 have accepted so far. The coalition’s mission is to enhance maritime security, protect international maritime corridors and counter threats targeting maritime navigation and global trade. Saudi Arabia has been moving around five million barrels of oil a day through the Bab El-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Due to renewed tensions, Brent oil futures are back around $90 a barrel.
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