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.
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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.
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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.