Houthis claim attacks on Saudi tankers in Red Sea, raising risk of new chokepoint in Iran war

Yemen’s Houthi militia attacked two Saudi Arabian oil tankers, the Iranian-aligned group said on Thursday, with a Saudi news agency later confirming one of the vessels was ablaze in the Red Sea. The threat of new front opening up in the US-Iran war came as the US military launched its 12th successive night of strikes, which have now widened to western and central Iran.

The Houthis said they attacked two tankers, the Encelia and Layla, saying the vessels had violated a naval blockade imposed by the group on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea. The Houthis said they targeted the tankers with a number of ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones.

Saudi Arabian news outlet SPA said an attack caused a fire on the bow of the Encelia but all crew members were safe. It did not say who targeted the vessel. A maritime security source said earlier on Thursday that the Encelia had transmitted a distress call via VHF radio, reporting it had been struck by a missile while operating at the outer port limits of Saudi Arabia’s Jizan, in the Red Sea, and was on fire.

The British maritime risk-management group Vanguard also said the Saudi-flagged tanker Encelia was struck by an unknown projectile about 70 nautical miles (130 km) south-west of Saudi Arabia’s Al Shuqaiq. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) said it had received a report of an incident in the same area, saying the master of a tanker reported being struck by an unknown projectile that caused a fire onboard.

It was not immediately clear whether the UKMTO report referred to the Encelia, though details matched Vanguard’s report. In the statement announcing their attack on the two tankers, the Houthis claimed they had forced about 10 ships to retreat and return.

Five tankers changed course in the Red Sea on Wednesday, with two signalling the Suez canal as their new destination after the Houthis warned ships to avoid Saudi ports, ship-tracking data showed. Brent crude oil on Wednesday jumped more than 3% to move back up above $95.

Before the Red Sea flare-up, Trump had vowed to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant every time Iran shoots at a ship in the strait of Hormuz, a claim Iran said it would respond to. US attacks on Thursday lasted five hours and struck at Iranian military targets including maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites, and air defence assets.

Iranian media reports said the US twice on Thursday attacked a military target in Bushehr, near the country’s only operating commercial nuclear power reactor, marking three strikes there in two days. State TV reported two people were killed and 11 wounded in what a Khuzestan provincial official described as a US missile attack on the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iraq.

Despite triumphant statements from Washington, Iran has demonstrated it retains missile and drone capabilities. Iran pounded vital water desalination and energy plants in Kuwait this week and targeted US military assets there. US allies Bahrain and Jordan have also come under attack in recent days.

An Iranian health ministry official said 53 civilians had been killed and 592 wounded since late last month. Since the US and Israel launched the war on 28 February, thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced. The war has also led to the deaths of 18 US service members and injured more than 450 troops.

Trump attended a ceremony on Wednesday at Dover air force base for four US service members killed in Iranian attacks on military bases over the last few days. “For me it’s one of the hardest things to do as a president. But it has to be done,” Trump said before leaving for the ceremony.

According to people familiar with the matter cited by The Wall Street Journal, the United States has increased military forces in the Middle East, including positioning fighter jets and placing bomber aircraft on alert, as options for potential escalation against Iran.

US President Donald Trump stated that the US would strike Iranian bridges or power plants in response to any attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Israeli officials assessed that expanded US strikes on Iranian infrastructure could prompt direct Iranian retaliation against Israel.

Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters stated on Wednesday that US attacks on Iranian infrastructure would lead Iran to block oil exports from West Asia and target regional energy and economic sites, according to media reports citing the statement.

US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that any Iranian attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz would prompt US strikes on Iranian bridges or power plants. US Central Command said it conducted a 12th consecutive night of strikes against Iran to degrade threats to shipping, as commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab Strait has declined.

DUBAI, July 23 — Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed to have struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea on Wednesday, potentially opening a new front in the US-Iran war engulfing the region. The claim came as the United States launched a fresh wave of strikes on Iranian military targets, marking the twelfth consecutive night of US attacks on Iran.

The Houthis said they had carried out missile and drone strikes on two Saudi tankers that “violated the blockade”, naming the vessels as the Encelia and the Layla. British naval security monitor UKMTO said the master of a tanker reported being struck by an unknown projectile about 70 nautical miles southwest of Al Shuqaiq, causing a fire that the crew was fighting.

The Red Sea escalation followed a Houthi threat to blockade Saudi ports, widening the pressure on key Middle East shipping routes already shaken by fighting over the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump had threatened to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant for every attack on shipping in Hormuz, drawing an “eye for an eye” warning from Tehran as both sides sharpened threats in the escalating war.

Fighting over the vital energy waterway has collapsed a preliminary deal between the United States and Iran, with Tehran reimposing its blockade and firing on vessels that seek to transit. “Any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT,” Trump wrote on social media.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would respond in kind to any attack on its infrastructure. “Our defence doctrine is clear: eye for an eye,” Araghchi wrote on X. “Any aggression against Iran, including our infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response.

” Iran’s state broadcaster quoted the military as saying that US threats “will have no result other than the expansion of the war”. Trump has faced intense political pressure to end the conflict, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday had cost the United States US$37.

5 billion, up from nearly US$29 billion (RM118 billion) in mid-May. But Trump rejected polls showing the war was unpopular as he headed to an airbase for the return of the remains of four US service personnel. Three were killed in an Iranian attack on a military base in Jordan, and one died during a controlled detonation of an unexploded Iranian drone in Iraq.

“Americans don’t want high gasoline prices but they’re not against the war,” Trump said. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, briefly topped US$95 a barrel for the first time in nearly six weeks on Wednesday. Crude futures later shed some gains but were still up about three per cent.

US strikes US Central Command reported the latest strikes began at 2130 GMT Wednesday against Iranian military targets, saying it aimed to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters”.

Kuwait’s army said early Thursday local time its air defences were intercepting hostile drones, following several days of Iranian strikes on the country. “Kuwaiti air defenses are currently responding to hostile drone threats,” the army said on X. “Any explosions that may be heard are the result of air defence systems intercepting hostile targets.

” Jordan said it had shot down four missiles and four drones, while air alert sirens sounded in Bahrain, where an AFP correspondent in Manama heard an explosion. The Iranian military and its powerful Revolutionary Guards confirmed targeting US assets in all three countries.

Red Sea threat Trump said he would “take care of” the Houthis if they followed through on their blockade threat against Saudi ports. It remains unclear how fully the Houthis could enforce such a blockade, but the threat could compound the shock of the Hormuz closure, endangering Riyadh’s ability to bypass the strait for some oil exports.

The Houthis had been broadcasting radio warnings to vessels, the International Chamber of Shipping told AFP. The message warned that “in case of non-compliance of Yemeni armed forces decision, those ships will be in our target, over”. During the Gaza war that began in October 2023, the Iran-backed Yemeni rebels attacked shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, forcing vessels to make a long detour around Africa and prompting a US bombing campaign.

The latest threats appear to have been enough to encourage several vessels to reverse course before entering waters off Yemen, according to shipping tracker Kpler, though nearly 30 ships still crossed the Bab al-Mandab on Tuesday. Maritime data analysed by AFP showed that at least nine ships had turned back from crossing the strait after the Houthi blockade announcement, including three that had taken on oil at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Yanbu terminal.