Yemen's Houthis attack Saudi tanker as US launches more Iran strikes. Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi movement has said its forces attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea that "violated" its blockade of Saudi ports, as the US carried out a 12th consecutive night of strikes on Iran.
Yemen's Houthis attack Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, threatening to widen Iran war, according to the latest reporting on the story.
Details
Not long after the Encelia was hit, the US military's Central Command (Centcom) said it had launched another wave of strikes on Iran at Trump's direction to further degrade the country's "ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial vessels" in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to BBC Verify, data from MarineTraffic shows Encelia departed the Saudi port of Yanbu on Monday and sailed south, briefly pausing close to the port of Jeddah before continuing towards the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the narrow waterway off Yemen's south-western coast that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
Separately, There has so far been no confirmation of an attack on the other Saudi-flagged tanker, Layla.
Image source, Shine Samuel Abraham/Handout via REUTERSImage caption, Saudi state media said the tanker Encelia was hit in the Red Sea, resulting in a fire on board.
Iranian state media said two people were killed in the US strikes on Wednesday night, while Jordan and Kuwait reported intercepting missiles and drones launched by Iran.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards also said a tanker caught fire following an explosion in a mined route in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway in the Gulf that is effectively closed.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that an "unknown projectile" struck a tanker about 130km (70 nautical miles) south-west of al-Shuqaiq, on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast, at 20:00 GMT (23:00 local time).
They said it was retaliation for a Saudi blockade of ports and airports in the territory they control in north-western Yemen, as well as an air strike on Sanaa airport last week that they blamed on the kingdom.
Statements
«major military punishment»
Context
The blockade and tanker attacks have the potential to widen the war between the US, Israel and Iran, and to further disrupt global energy supplies and maritime trade.
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.".
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier that the Houthis "apparently have gotten themselves suckered into this" by Iran, adding: "I hope they will de-escalate.".
The official Saudi news agency confirmed that one tanker was hit late on Wednesday, resulting in a fire on board, in a development tied to the same story.
Separately, On Thursday, US President Donald Trump warned the Houthis that if they did it again, the US would inflict "major military punishment" upon both them and Iran.
Sarea added that the Houthis would "continue their naval operations against the Saudi enemy" and "persist in enforcing the 'siege for a siege' equation".
Citing an unnamed official source at the Saudi Transport General Authority, it described the attack as a violation of international laws and conventions, according to the latest reporting on the story.
Available information indicates that A number of other oil tankers in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden have been changing course since the Houthis warned ships to avoid Saudi ports on Monday.
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In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the Houthis had "acted very responsibly" since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran, in a development tied to the same story.
Separately, Mediator Oman said it was working to resume talks between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the group targeted the Saudi-flagged tankers Encelia and Layla with missiles and drones on Wednesday night because they had violated the blockade of Saudi ports announced earlier this week.
The Houthis announced a "maritime embargo" on Saudi Arabia on Monday, according to the latest reporting on the story.
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed because of Iranian attacks, Saudi Arabia has used its east-west oil pipeline to increase exports via the Red Sea in recent months.
Soon after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, the Houthis began attacking merchant vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with missiles, drones and small boats, saying they were acting in support of the Palestinians.
