Brent crude climbs to $110 a barrel as Bab el-Mandeb attacks continue

Saudi Arabia weighs security contingencies and Egypt discusses defensive support after a week of strikes on Red Sea shipping

Brent crude reached $110 a barrel after attacks on shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb strait intensified concern over global energy supply. The price marks a fresh high after weeks in which Brent had mostly held in a $100 to $108 range through repeated claims, intercepts and sporadic confirmed damage.

Flights were suspended at King Abdulaziz International Airport after several explosions were reported in Jeddah. Saudi Arabia intercepted two more ballistic missiles, part of a missile campaign that has reached Riyadh, Jeddah and border provinces since September. Jeddah had already been hit by explosions on Thursday, a day after a claimed Houthi strike on an Aramco site, and sirens and explosions have also been reported in Najran and Jazan as the campaign spread beyond the border corridor, with confirmed airport damage, deaths and an Aramco fire.

Egypt vowed to protect Saudi Arabia and called an emergency session of parliament following a week of strikes reaching Riyadh and Jeddah. Saudi Arabia is considering security contingencies of its own, and Egypt's discussion of defensive support pushes the response beyond unilateral Saudi measures toward a broader regional commitment.

The combination of record-high crude and multiple states now signalling active defence coordination suggests markets are pricing in a more durable supply threat than earlier episodes that cleared without lasting effect on price. The shift also follows a pattern of attacks reaching airports and Aramco infrastructure rather than border regions alone, which raises the stakes if contingency planning turns into direct military involvement.