Two Saudi-linked oil tankers were reportedly attacked in the Red Sea as Houthi forces widened the regional conflict and U.S. strikes against Iranian military and civilian infrastructure continued for a 12th consecutive night.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said two Saudi oil tankers were struck in the Red Sea early Thursday, opening another front in the expanding fight over strategic shipping routes as the United States carried out a 12th consecutive night of attacks on targets in Iran.
The Houthis identified the vessels as the Encelia and the Layla, claiming both were hit with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones. Fires were reported aboard the tankers following the attacks.
The claimed strikes came as fighting across the region continued to disrupt commercial shipping and put additional pressure on global energy markets. Oil prices reached a six-week high as supply routes tightened and concerns grew over the movement of fuel and other materials through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.
The Red Sea attacks would represent the Houthis’ first reported strikes on commercial vessels since the group announced Monday that Saudi-linked shipping would be blocked from passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The Houthis said the blockade was imposed in response to what they described as Saudi Arabia’s blockade of Yemen and a recent attack on the international airport in Sanaa, the rebel-held Yemeni capital.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the two tankers were attacked because they allegedly violated the group’s naval restrictions. According to a BBC report, the operation involved multiple drones and missiles.
Saree said the Houthis intended to continue their maritime campaign and would enforce what he called the “siege for a siege” equation.
The attacks add the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to the region’s widening struggle over maritime access. The narrow passage connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and serves as a major route for oil tankers and commercial vessels traveling between Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
At the same time, U.S. forces continued striking Iranian targets as Washington sought to reestablish freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. Central Command said the latest attacks were intended to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters,” according to an Associated Press report.
The American campaign has targeted Iranian military infrastructure as well as civilian facilities connected to the government’s ability to sustain operations. The strikes followed repeated attacks on ships attempting to travel through the contested waterway.
President Donald Trump escalated his warning to Tehran on Wednesday, declaring that the United States would retaliate against Iranian infrastructure each time Iran attacks a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
“From this point forward, 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, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
The warning established a direct link between attacks on commercial shipping and future U.S. strikes against Iranian infrastructure.
Control of the Strait of Hormuz remains central to the conflict because of the large volume of global oil and commercial cargo that passes through the channel. The Houthi action in the Red Sea now threatens a second major maritime route, increasing the possibility of broader interruptions to international shipping.
The Houthis have previously used missiles and drones against commercial vessels, describing those operations as retaliation for regional military actions and economic restrictions. Their latest declaration indicates the group is prepared to resume sustained attacks against ships it considers connected to Saudi Arabia.
With U.S. forces continuing their bombing campaign against Iran and the Houthis threatening additional operations in the Red Sea, commercial vessels now face heightened risks across two of the world’s most strategically important shipping corridors.
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