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Houthis hit Saudi tankers
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis claimed they attacked two Saudi oil tankers transiting the Red Sea, naming Encelia and Layla, and said the strikes were carried out for “their violation of the blockade decision issued by the armed forces.”
The Saudi Press Agency reported that the Encelia had been hit and said an official source at Saudi Arabia’s Transport General Authority reported that all crew members were safe.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre said it received reports that a tanker was struck by an unknown projectile, causing a fire onboard that the crew were currently fighting.
The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, imposed a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia on July 20 after some of the worst violence Yemen had seen for four years, following a Yemeni government bombing of the Houthi-controlled Sanaa airport to stop an Iranian plane from landing.
Al Jazeera quoted Sanaa-based journalist Hussain al-Bukhaiti saying the Houthis’ naval blockade aims “to force Riyadh to lift its embargo on the ports and airports controlled by the Houthis.”
Threats and warnings
U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Thursday that the United States will hold Iran responsible since the Houthis are “a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran,” and said “major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves.”
The BBC reported that Trump warned the Houthis that if they did so again, the US would inflict “major military punishment” upon both them and Iran, as the US carried out a 12th consecutive night of strikes on Iran.
The BBC also said Iranian state media reported two people were killed in US strikes on Wednesday night, while Jordan and Kuwait intercepted missiles and drones launched by Iran.
In a separate warning, the French government urged the Houthis to stop their attacks on Saudi oil tankers, with a French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs spokesperson telling reporters: “The Houthis' attacks on Saudi oil tankers are an irresponsible and dangerous escalation.”
Al Jazeera reported that the Houthis said they had forced “nearly ten ships… to abandon their routes, and turn back,” as the UKMTO centre said it had received reports of a tanker being struck.
Shipping and oil at risk
The attacks and blockade threats came as oil prices approached $100 a barrel, with Al-Monitor saying Brent crude rose above $98 a barrel and that at 8:37 a.m. Eastern Time Brent traded at $99.12 per barrel.
Al Jazeera said the Bab al-Mandeb chokepoint is just 29km (18 miles) wide at its narrowest point and that in 2024 about 4.1 billion barrels of crude oil and refined petroleum products passed through the strait, about 5 percent of the global total.
The BBC reported that the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said an “unknown projectile” struck a tanker about 130km (70 nautical miles) south-west of al-Shuqaiq, Saudi Arabia, at 20:00 GMT (23:00 local time), causing a fire onboard but no casualties.
Al-Monitor said Saudi Arabia had increased reliance on the Red Sea route due to the near-total closure of the Hormuz Strait in March, and that Saudi Arabia redirected more than 70% of its crude oil shipments via a pipeline to the Yanbu port on the Red Sea coast.
The Hill reported that the Houthis’ blockade was announced “based on the equation of ‘an eye for an eye,’ effective immediately,” and said the Houthis warned that any aggression targeting their country would be met with “large-scale operations deep within its territory.”
