Saudi crown prince seeks Egypt’s backing as Houthi attacks rattle Red Sea oil routes

As the kingdom faces climbed attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Saudi shipping and infrastructure that have supported drive a surge in global oil costs, CAIRO (AP) – Saudi Arabia's crown prince sought backing Tuesday from the president of Egypt, his ally.

What happened

Saudi Arabia has largely been on its own in confronting the Iranian-backed rebels. This person rapidly captured more territory in Yemen over the past week and strengthened their ability to choke off Saudi oil exports out of the Red Sea.

For context, the vulnerability of the kingdom's oil production was further underscored by an attack days ago that damaged its biggest pipeline. The strike was reportedly carried out by Iran's allied militias in Iraq. It means the East-West Pipeline will be largely shut down for weeks as it is repaired, regional authorities say, probable taking a number of million barrels of oil a day off the market.

The bottom line

Taken together, the developments around saudi crown prince seeks Egypt's backing as Houthi attacks rattle Red Sea point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.