Saudi oil tankers bound for India, China reroute after Houthi warning

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the United States is still willing to negotiate an end to the Iran crisis but Tehran is not serious about talks, as the widening conflict disrupted two of the world's most critical energy chokepoints. Mr Rubio made his comments in a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers a day after three oil tankers carrying Saudi crude to Asia reversed course in the Red Sea, apparently in response to threats from Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis.

The Houthis, who control the coast at the mouth of the Red Sea, announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia on Monday, opening a potential new front in the war which has killed thousands of people across the Gulf since it began on 28 February with US and Israeli attacks on Iran.

With Iran already threatening shipping through the Strait of Hormuz leading out of the Gulf, the Red Sea has served as the main alternate route out for millions of barrels of Saudi oil per day. A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday that Tehran had received a proposal from mediators for a 10-day ceasefire in efforts to salvage the interim ceasefire agreement signed by the US and Iran in June, which replaced an earlier April ceasefire.

In another sign that diplomacy remains alive, Iran's Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni has visited mediator Pakistan and asked Islamabad to continue its efforts. Mr Rubio said Washington was "always committed to diplomacy" but doubted whether Tehran was equally committed to negotiations.

"The problem we're having right now is that they're not serious about talks. If they're serious, we're serious. If they're not, then we will do what's necessary to protect our interests, and also the interests of our allies," Mr Rubio said in Manila.

He stressed that Iran could not be allowed to control the Strait of Hormuz, arguing it would create a dangerous precedent for the world including Southeast Asian countries, many of which have territorial disputes in the South China Sea with China. "If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll, and if you don't pay them blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent, which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region," Mr Rubio said.

With no diplomatic breakthrough in sight, the US military bombed targets across Iran for an 11th straight night. Tehran residents reported hearing explosions in the early hours of this morning as Iran activated its air defences over the capital, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency said.

Explosions were also reported in the southeastern coastal cities of Chabahar and Konarak, and two blasts were heard in Bushehr, home to Iran's only nuclear power plant, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported. Earlier, Iran targeted U.S. military sites in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan and a tanker was hit in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran said it had struck infrastructure belonging to Amazon in Bahrain, where the US tech company operates a regional data centre. Amazon did not comment and Reuters could not verify the report. US President Donald Trump confirmed that 18 US servicemembers had been killed so far in the war, including four in Iranian attacks on US military bases in Jordan and Iraq over the last few days.

Oil prices rose further in Asian trade today after climbing more than 2% on Tuesday following the Houthi threats, with Brent crude hovering above $91 a barrel. 'Gate of Tears' In a letter to shippers, the Houthis threatened to attack any ships that load or discharge Saudi oil.

Mr Trump said the Houthis had not yet shut the Bab el-Mandeb, the "Gate of Tears" strait leading into the Red Sea, and threatened to act against them if they did. "So far it hasn't happened," Mr Trump said. "If something like that happens, we take care of it.

" Three oil tankers loaded with Saudi crude for China and India made U-turns in the Red Sea on Tuesday, heading towards the Suez Canal rather than braving the Yemeni coast at the sea's mouth. Throughout the war, Saudi Arabia partially escaped the shipping disruption by piping oil to Yanbu on the Red Sea instead.

But a full closure of that alternative route by the Houthis could reduce global oil supply as it would leave most Saudi oil exports trapped. Yesterday, Trump renewed his threats to again attack Iran's nuclear facilities at Natanz "pretty soon", which he said in June 2025 had been "totally obliterated" after the US military bombed the facility, buried in a mountain range, that month.

Iran promised it would retaliate. Fifty civilians have been killed and 500 wounded in the recent US strikes on Iran, a health ministry official said. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has told US senators that the war has cost the United States $37.

5 billion so far, up from a previous estimate of nearly $29bn in mid-May.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it had completed its 11th consecutive night of strikes against Iran at 8:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday, as US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Senate that the American war effort against Tehran has now cost $37.5 billion.

CENTCOM said its forces had targeted Iranian military operations centres, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities and military logistics infrastructure, aimed at further degrading Iran's capacity to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

The command said Iran had attacked more than 30 commercial vessels transiting the waterway over the past three months, describing the attacks as unwarranted and a threat to freedom of navigation. Despite this, CENTCOM said the Strait had remained open, with its forces having facilitated the transit of approximately 900 commercial vessels and 450 million barrels of crude oil since early May.

The strikes came hours before Hegseth appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee, where he put the total cost of the war at $37.5 billion so far — a sharp rise from the roughly $29 billion Pentagon officials had estimated in mid-May, a figure that had not accounted for damage to US bases.

The revised estimate came as the administration pressed lawmakers for $67 billion in supplemental defence funding, part of a wider $95 billion Republican package covering other White House priorities. ALSO READ: 'What Awaits You Now Are Disasters': Iran Threatens 'Terrifying' Retaliation If Nuclear Sites Are Bombed Hegseth's testimony, which he called an "urgent, necessary" funding request, faced repeated pushback from Senate Democrats, who questioned both the war's cost and its lack of a clear endpoint.

Senator Patty Murray warned that the conflict was "spiraling out of control again," while committee members cited unnamed sources suggesting the actual bill could run considerably higher once military construction for damaged bases is factored in. The hearing came days after the Pentagon disclosed that three more American service members had died in the conflict, taking the death toll to 17, with more than 100 injured since early July.

The renewed exchanges came after strikes and counter-strikes between Washington and Tehran intensified through July, following the collapse of an earlier ceasefire reached in April. ALSO READ: Trump Vows 'Very Heavy' Strikes On Iran Soon; Says Pickaxe Mountain On Top Target Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.

US Central Command stated that strikes lasting about 75 minutes late Tuesday targeted Iranian military sites, including operations centers, aircraft hangars, and logistics infrastructure, to reduce threats to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. US officials reported that Iran had attacked more than 30 commercial vessels in the area over the prior three months.

Iranian health officials said the recent strikes killed 50 civilians and wounded 500, while reporting that thousands have been killed and millions displaced in the broader conflict that began on February 28.

Crude oil benchmarks rose on Wednesday, with Brent crude trading at $92.40 per barrel, up 1.53%, and WTI at $85.50 per barrel, up 1.38%, after closing higher the prior session. Price gains followed reports of Houthi threats to Red Sea shipping routes and separate accounts of military strikes involving U.

S. and Iranian targets. Some tankers were said to have altered course, while Saudi export facilities reportedly continued normal operations.