Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels declared a maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia on Monday and vowed to close the Bab el-Mandeb strait to Saudi vessels, opening a second maritime front in the U.S.-Iran war as two oil tankers caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz and Pakistan-hosted mediators pressed Washington and Tehran to accept a 10-day ceasefire.
The threats came as U.S. Central Command completed a 10th consecutive night of strikes on Iranian targets, hitting "military command centers, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and air defense systems," according to a Centcom statement. Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said "massive fires" had broken out on two tankers that attempted to transit the strait's "unsafe and hazardous southern route." Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran was now fighting a "full-scale war" with the United States.
Houthi front opens
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea announced a "maritime embargo against the criminal Saudi enemy, based on the equation of 'an eye for an eye,'" citing a Saudi blockade of Houthi-controlled ports. A deputy in the group's media office said on X that its forces were "closing Bab al-Mandab to Saudi enemy ships." Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said the kingdom "will take all necessary measures to protect its ships in accordance with international law."
The move puts about 2.5 million barrels a day of Saudi crude exports at risk, according to Rystad Energy senior vice president Jorge Leon, because Saudi Arabia has diverted more than 70 percent of its exports to the Red Sea port of Yanbu after the effective closure of Hormuz. Shipments from Yanbu have run near 4 million barrels a day in recent weeks, up from about 973,000 barrels a year earlier, according to Kpler and Signal Ocean data.
Tanker fires spread
A tanker in the Strait of Hormuz reported being struck by an unknown projectile and its crew abandoned ship, according to the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations agency. Six tankers and cargo ships crossed the strait Monday, down from eight on July 19, with all but one using the northern route near Iran, Kpler data show.
Mediators press truce
Iran's Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni met Pakistan army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir in Islamabad on Tuesday, two officials told the Associated Press, as Pakistani mediators pushed a 10-day ceasefire proposal meant to revive the June memorandum of understanding. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Sunday the United States remained open to negotiation but "it has to be real."
Casualties named
The Pentagon on Monday identified two of three U.S. service members killed in a weekend Iranian strike on Jordan's Muwaffaq Salti Air Base: Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, and 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii. Unidentified remains attributed to a third missing service member were recovered at the site. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said their sacrifice "only stiffens our resolve."
Administration officials had not publicly responded to the Houthi announcement or the tanker fires by press time. On Truth Social, President Trump wrote: "Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!"
"Whether the Houthis move from threats to direct action remains the critical issue," Mohammed Albasha of the U.S.-based Basha Report risk advisory told Reuters.