00:00This small waterway in the Red Sea has been key to cushioning the oil market's damage so far,
00:04but it too might be at risk.
00:06The Bab al-Mandeb Strait connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden,
00:09and it's been really important for Saudi Arabia's effort to reroute its oil flows into the Red Sea
00:14and to customers in Asia.
00:15Now, normally they would send most of their oil through the Strait of Hormuz,
00:19but they haven't done that since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran,
00:22effectively closing the Strait.
00:23Trump has threatened to escalate the war and hasn't indicated when the Strait will reopen.
00:27We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks.
00:32We're going to bring them back to the Stone Ages where they belong.
00:37But there may now be a new risk in the Red Sea as well.
00:40The Houthis.
00:41The Houthis are a Iran-backed group that controls much of Yemen,
00:44and they've launched attacks on Israel.
00:46There are fears that this could escalate into this region.
00:49In 2023, in response to Israel's war in Gaza,
00:52the Houthis were attacking ships in the Red Sea and essentially halted trade.
00:56It was one of the biggest disruptions since the pandemic.
00:59Now, if they were to do this again and stop oil tankers from going through,
01:02prices could rise.
01:04Bloomberg Economics estimates that oil prices could increase to $140 a barrel if that were to happen.
01:09Now, it's unclear whether the Houthis will do this.
01:12Of course, they're being pushed by Iran to increase their attacks,
01:15but the Houthis are also likely aware that if they were to do so,
01:19then there could be retaliation from the U.S. and Israel.
01:21So, you know,
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