Houthis hit Saudi tankers as Red Sea tensions deepen US-Iran crisis

Yemen's Houthi rebels said they attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. The strikes have sharpened fears over shipping, oil supplies and a wider US-Iran escalation.Image used for representational purposes onlyYemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels said on Thursday they had attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, raising the risk of a fresh flashpoint in the wider US-Iran conflict. The claim came as the US military carried out its 12th straight night of strikes against Iran, while Tehran and Washington continued to clash over control of the Strait of Hormuz.The reported attacks also deepened concerns over global trade and energy supplies. With Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz already hitting shipping, the Houthis have threatened to shut down the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another vital sea route. Brent crude rose 4.3 per cent to USD 98.16 a barrel on Thursday, its highest level since early June, before the two sides reached a preliminary peace agreement that has since collapsed.US President Donald Trump threatened "major military punishment" against the Houthis if attacks on ships continue. "If they do this again, the US will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis themselves," Trump wrote on social media.As tensions rose, Iraq Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, who has close ties to both the US and Iran, was in Tehran on Thursday to call for peace and dialogue, a spokesperson said. Al-Zaidi had met Trump earlier this month in Washington. An Arab diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said Gulf states were increasingly pessimistic about finding an off-ramp, though regional countries along with Pakistan and Turkiye were still pushing for de-escalation. The Houthis' SABA news agency said the rebels had struck the Encelia and the Layla in the Red Sea, causing fires on both vessels. There were no reports of casualties. It was the group's first reported attack on a ship since it announced a blockade of Saudi-linked shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb earlier this week, saying the move was in retaliation for the kingdom's blockade on Yemen and a recent attack on the international airport in Sanaa, the rebel-held capital.Bab el-Mandeb, at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and is a key shipping chokepoint. About 12 per cent of the world's trade, including a quarter of global container traffic, passes through the route between Europe and Asia via Egypt's Suez Canal. Saudi state media reported that an attack had set the Encelia ablaze overnight in the Red Sea, but did not mention the Layla. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said it had received a report that a tanker had been hit by "an unknown projectile" about 130 kilometres southwest of Al Shuqaiq in Saudi Arabia. The attacks threaten oil shipments from Saudi Arabia's Yanbu port on the Red Sea and create a "double whammy" on top of disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, maritime data and analysis firm Lloyd's List Intelligence said. Saudi Arabia has been routing millions of barrels a day of oil exports to Yanbu through an overland pipeline because the war has bottled up the Persian Gulf. The Houthi threats, Lloyd's said, "raise questions on the viability of this route". The rebels say they are blockading Saudi Arabia, but during their earlier announced blockade of Israel at the height of the war in Gaza, they attacked many vessels with little or no connection to that conflict, disrupting global trade.Iran says it has the right to manage traffic and potentially charge fees in the Strait of Hormuz, which before the war was open to all and toll-free. Tehran has attacked ships using a route through the strait overseen by US forces and meant to be outside its control. In response, the US expanded its campaign of strikes across Iran and restored a naval blockade of Iranian ports.The war of words also intensified. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would adopt an "eye for an eye" policy over US strikes on its infrastructure. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio responded that President Donald Trump's policy is "an eye for an eye" and said, "The price will continue to get higher every single night until they come to their senses," while travelling in the Philippines for a regional summit.Iranian state media said US missiles struck sites near Ahvaz, Ramshir and Andimeshk in western Iran overnight, and that two people were killed in a US missile strike in Shalamcheh on the Iraqi border. US Central Command said the strikes were meant to "further degrade Iran's ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters" as the US seeks to regain control over the Strait of Hormuz and restore international shipping. Iran, in turn, has targeted energy infrastructure and desalination plants that provide drinking water in neighbouring Gulf countries. Jordan said its military intercepted three missiles early on Thursday and that a fourth fell in an empty area, while six drones were brought down on Wednesday night. Bahrain's Interior Ministry said sirens had sounded and urged people to remain calm and move to a safe area. Kuwait said drones hit its border crossing with Iraq, causing damage but no casualties. That attack may have been in response to the US strike on the Iran-Iraq border crossing.With the Houthis now threatening the Bab el-Mandeb route as the US-Iran confrontation continues around the Strait of Hormuz, pressure has grown on shipping, oil supplies and diplomatic efforts, even as countries in the region continue to push for de-escalation.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Jul 23, 2026 18:58 IST