Iran-aligned Houthi forces said on Thursday they had struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea as part of what they described as a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, raising concerns over a second major disruption to global oil supplies alongside Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The Houthis, who control territory near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, said they launched missile and drone attacks against the Saudi oil tankers Encelia and Layla. Saudi state news agency SPA confirmed that the Encelia had been struck, with an official source saying the attack caused a fire at the vessel’s bow. The reported attack on the Layla had not been independently confirmed.
A maritime security source said the Encelia transmitted a distress signal after reporting that it had been hit by a missile near the Saudi Red Sea port of Jizan late on Wednesday. The incident comes as Saudi Arabia has increasingly routed millions of barrels of crude each day through its Red Sea port of Yanbu to avoid the Strait of Hormuz. If vessels are unable to pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, they would be forced to travel north through the Suez Canal, extending transit times and increasing shipping costs.
Shipping disruptions were already evident before the latest attacks. Five oil tankers changed course in the Red Sea on Wednesday to avoid the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, while three tankers carrying Saudi crude bound for China and India turned back on Tuesday. Shipping data on Thursday showed two Chinese very large crude carriers transporting a combined four million barrels of Saudi oil continuing towards the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The Houthis announced earlier this week that they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, a move that some analysts have interpreted as an attempt by Iran to increase strategic pressure amid the widening regional conflict.
The latest developments coincide with continuing military operations between the United States and Iran. The U.S. military said on Wednesday it had launched another round of strikes against Iranian targets on the orders of President Donald Trump, extending American attacks to a twelfth consecutive night. U.S. Central Command said it would continue operations aimed at reducing Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping.
Before the latest escalation in the Red Sea, Trump warned that the United States would destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant each time Iran attacked a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s joint military command responded by warning that any attacks on its infrastructure would be met with strikes against regional oil, gas, electricity and economic facilities, and said it would prevent the export of “even a single drop of oil.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards later reported an explosion along what it described as a mined shipping route south of the Strait of Hormuz, saying one of three oil tankers caught fire while the other two turned back. The Guards said the strait was under Iranian control and “completely closed,” adding that no tanker would be permitted to enter or leave without Iranian coordination.
Iranian media also reported that U.S. forces carried out two strikes on Thursday against a military target in Bushehr near Iran’s only operating commercial nuclear power plant, marking the third attack in the area within two days. State television reported that two people were killed and eleven others wounded in what a provincial official described as a U.S. missile strike on the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iraq.
Both sides also reported rising casualties as the conflict continued. Iranian officials said dozens of civilians had been killed and hundreds wounded since late last month, while the United States said 18 service members had died and more than 450 troops had been injured during the conflict. President Trump attended a ceremony at Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday honouring four U.S. service members killed in recent Iranian attacks before later describing the conflict during a speech in Georgia as “a skirmish.”
