Saudi Arabia facing 'biggest threat' ever to oil production as Iran-proxy Houthis launch attacks, expert says

Saudi Arabia is currently facing "the biggest threat" ever to its production of oil as the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen are launching cross-border attacks and seizing territory near the Red Sea’s Bab el-Mandeb Strait, an expert told Fox News Digital.

Hussain Abdul-Hussain, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Thursday that the situation is escalating in the Middle East as Iran "likely instigated the Houthis to force a blockade on Saudi Arabia ." "I think this situation is really precarious for the Saudis.

This is the biggest threat to their production of oil since their kingdom was founded in 1932.

And this is almost existential," he said.

"We see that the Saudis are trying to shop for some force to fight their war for them.

And I think along the lines, they also called President Trump.

It doesn't look to me that Washington is going to get involved in this one," he added.

"We'll probably offer them advice and tell support, but I don't think we, the United States, will get involved with this war over Bab el-Mandeb." IRAN-BACKED TERROR GROUP'S LATEST TERRITORIAL GRAB THREATENS SECOND GLOBAL SHIPPING CHOKEPOINT Saudi Arabia was forced to temporarily close its East-West oil pipeline last week following a drone attack launched from Iraq, which Trump said he believes Iran was behind.

Then on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia destroyed a Houthi drone that attempted to enter the airspace near Mecca, among other recent provocations.

"We know that the United States imposes a blockade on Iran, so Iran is unable to export any of its oil, licitly or illicitly.

What the Iranians are trying to do is that they're trying to telegraph to the other oil exporters in the region that either we export, all of us export oil, or none of us will export oil," Abdul-Hussain told Fox News Digital.

"This is why you see Iran shutting down the Strait of Hormuz.

This forced Saudi Arabia to switch its oil production from east to west, from Hormuz to the other side to the Red Sea.

Tankers started picking up oil at the port of Yanbu in Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea and sailing south through the Bab al-Mandeb all the way to the Asian markets.