Saree claimed the group has now struck eight oil tankers and forced 29 others to reverse course since implementing the blockade. According to the Houthi statement, the group will continue and intensify operations, targeting Saudi ports in the northern Red Sea with the aim of closing them entirely. Saree characterized the Houthi campaign as establishing a "blockade in response to a blockade," indicating the group's intent to pressure Saudi Arabia regardless of consequences. Yanbu, on the Red Sea coast, has become Saudi Arabia's primary crude export port after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, with the East-West Pipeline delivering crude that bypasses the Persian Gulf. The Houthi attacks put at risk oil shipments from Saudi Arabia's Yanbu port on the Red Sea and present a "double whammy" on top of the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.