Yemen’s Houthi rebels say they have struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, a potentially dangerous expansion of the US-Iran war already convulsing the region.
The claim emerged as the United States unleashed another round of attacks on Iranian military targets, extending its campaign against Iran into a twelfth consecutive night.
According to the Houthis, missiles and drones targeted two Saudi tankers accused of having “violated the blockade”. The group identified the vessels as the Encelia and the Layla.
British maritime security monitor UKMTO said a tanker master reported that an unknown projectile hit the vessel about 70 nautical miles southwest of Al Shuqaiq, sparking a fire that crew members were working to extinguish.
The latest Red Sea confrontation followed a Houthi warning that Saudi ports would be blockaded, intensifying pressure on crucial Middle Eastern shipping corridors already disrupted by conflict around the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, meanwhile, said they had prevented three oil tankers from crossing the strategic waterway. In recent weeks, military operations in Hormuz have also derailed a preliminary agreement between Iran and the United States.
“Three oil tankers, provoked and tempted by the child-killing American army, were trying to pass through the mine-laid route south of the Strait of Hormuz, but after one of them exploded and caught fire, the other two quickly turned around and turned back,” the Guards said in a statement carried by Iranian state media.
The Guards gave no indication of when the reported encounter occurred.
“The powerful IRGC Navy emphasizes that the Strait of Hormuz is under our control… and any ship that is deceived by the US and intends to pass without coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran will suffer the same fate,” the statement added.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi
The Iranian account followed a threat from US President Donald Trump to destroy one Iranian bridge or power plant for every attack on shipping in Hormuz. Tehran answered with an “eye for an eye” warning as the two sides escalated their rhetoric alongside the widening conflict.
“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,” Mr Trump posted on social media.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that Tehran would retaliate in kind if its infrastructure came under attack.
“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 cited the military as saying the US threats “will have no result other than the expansion of the war”.
As he travelled to an airbase for the return of the remains of four US service personnel, Mr Trump dismissed domestic polling indicating that the conflict lacked public support.
Three of the personnel died in an Iranian strike on a military base in Jordan. The fourth was killed 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,” Mr Trump said.
Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, briefly climbed above $95 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time in almost six weeks. Futures later surrendered part of those gains but remained roughly 3% higher.
‘Out-of-control military spending’
In Washington, the House of Representatives narrowly approved an annual defence policy measure authorising a record $1.15 trillion for the Pentagon.
The 2027 National Defense Authorization Act, usually a source of substantial bipartisan agreement, cleared the lower chamber by 216 votes to 212, underscoring the deepening political divide under Mr Trump.
The legislation, which still requires Senate approval, allocates about $250bn more than the 2026 NDAA.
Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee said in a statement that the measure would help replenish “depleted stockpiles” as the United States uses large quantities of projectiles in its war with Iran.
Democratic Representative Jerry Nadler said he could not support handing Trump and his Defense chief Pete Hegseth “$1.15 TRILLION for their out-of-control military spending and irresponsible actions”.
“The NDAA is a costly, bad bill that funds an illegal war and undermines our democracy,” he added.
Mr Trump has also pushed for development of the so-called Golden Dome missile defence system, designed to shield the US mainland and modelled on Israel’s “Iron Dome”.
US strikes
US Central Command said the newest strikes against Iranian military sites began at 9.30pm GMT yesterday, or 10.30pm Ireland time. It said the operation sought to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters”.
Kuwait’s military said early this morning that its air defences were engaging hostile drones after several days of Iranian attacks 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 defense systems intercepting hostile targets.”
Jordan reported shooting down four missiles and four drones. Air-raid sirens also sounded in Bahrain, where an AFP correspondent in Manama heard an explosion.
Iran’s military and the powerful Revolutionary Guards acknowledged striking US assets in each of the three countries.
Red Sea threat
Mr Trump said he would “take care of” the Houthis if the group attempted to carry out its threatened blockade of Saudi ports.
How effectively the Houthis could impose such a blockade remains uncertain. Even so, the threat risks magnifying the fallout from the closure of Hormuz by jeopardising Riyadh’s ability to route some oil exports around the strait.
The International Chamber of Shipping said the Houthis had begun transmitting radio warnings to ships in the area.
The broadcast warned that “in case of non-compliance of Yemeni armed forces decision, those ships will be in our target, over”.
Middle East shipping routes have already been shaken by fighting over the Strait of Hormuz
During the Gaza war, which began in October 2023, the Iran-backed Yemeni rebels repeatedly attacked vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The campaign forced ships onto the lengthy route around Africa and triggered US bombing operations.
Kpler tracking data indicated the renewed warnings had persuaded several ships to turn around before reaching waters off Yemen, although nearly 30 vessels still passed through the Bab al-Mandab on Tuesday.
Maritime information examined by AFP showed at least nine vessels reversed course rather than cross the strait after the Houthi blockade declaration. They included three ships that had loaded oil at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea terminal in Yanbu.
