DOMINANT ANGLE
Pretoria is already calculating the energy bill for a Saudi crisis that adds to six months of Iran-United States war, with the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait under Houthi threat.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
The Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, through which around 12% of global trade passes, fell under de facto control of the Houthis on Friday after the takeover of a strategic island.
- 02
Baghdad set September 30 as the deadline for the disarmament of non-state armed groups, but several of the most powerful militias have already said they will refuse to comply.
- 03
Donald Trump downplayed the crisis on Saturday, stating: "Everything will work out just fine. It's all going to work out fine."
ANALYSIS
Johannesburg, September 13, 2026. Pretoria is already calculating the bill for a crisis unfolding thousands of kilometres away, but which directly affects the South African pump. The East-West Saudi oil pipeline, shut down after drone attacks on Friday night, transported between 4 and 5 million barrels per day to the Red Sea, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. Its closure, combined with the takeover on Friday by Houthi rebels of a strategic island in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait — a waterway through which around 12% of global trade passes —, has sent crude oil prices back above $100 per barrel.
For the South African economic press, which has largely reproduced the dispatches verbatim, the key issue is less the attack itself than its cascading repercussions on already inflated prices due to "six months of Iran-US war". The Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, if it falls under Houthi control, could send global prices soaring, according to Business Day and TimesLIVE, which have run the same article.
Baghdad confirmed on Saturday that the drones had been launched from Iraqi territory, sacked a military commander, and promised an investigation, while setting September 30 as the deadline for non-state armed groups to surrender their arms — an ultimatum that several of the country's most powerful militias have already said they will not respect. A group of Iran-backed militias denied any involvement in the attack, while hailing the "continuous victories on the battlefield against Saudi forces" of the Houthis.
Asked on Saturday about global oil prices and his exchanges with the Saudi crown prince, Donald Trump attempted to reassure the markets: "Everything will work out just fine. It's all going to work out fine." A brief phrase, reproduced verbatim by South African headlines, which contrasts with the concern of a net fuel-importing economy, already sensitive to every surge in Brent prices at the pump and domestic inflation.
