Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea on Wednesday night, driving Brent crude to nearly $99 a barrel Thursday and opening a maritime front hundreds of miles from the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping traffic has already collapsed under Iranian mines and missile fire.
The attacks, the first the group has claimed since Monday's declaration of a "maritime embargo" on Saudi Arabia, drag traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — the alternative route through which 12 to 15 percent of global seaborne trade reaches the Suez Canal — squarely into the U.S.-Iran war. Brent futures rose more than 5 percent in early Thursday trading, according to NBC News, their highest level since June 3. U.S. crude climbed above $90 a barrel, the highest since June 11.
What was hit
The Saudi Press Agency confirmed early Thursday that the tanker Encelia was struck "while sailing in the Red Sea," causing a fire on its bow. All crew were reported safe. The U.K. Maritime Trade Operation logged an "unknown projectile" hitting a Saudi tanker about 130 kilometers off Al Shuqaiq at 20:00 GMT. A second vessel the Houthis named, the Layla, has not been independently confirmed as hit.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group used drones and cruise and ballistic missiles against the ships and would keep enforcing what he called the "siege for a siege" equation. At least seven tankers have made U-turns near Yemen since Monday's blockade declaration, and Saree claimed 10.
Strikes and counterstrikes
Hours before the tanker attack, U.S. Central Command completed a 12th consecutive night of strikes on Iran, hitting what it described as "Iranian military targets including maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites, and air defense assets." Iranian state broadcaster IRIB said two people were killed near Shalamcheh on the Iraqi border. Al Jazeera reported that an overnight U.S. strike on a power substation near the Bushehr nuclear plant knocked out electricity in the city for hours.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it retaliated against U.S. bases in Kuwait and Jordan, claiming the destruction of a Patriot battery and a hangar of MQ-9 drones at Ali Al Salem airbase and a THAAD radar system at a Jordanian base. The IRGC also said an explosion set a third tanker ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz after the vessel attempted a mined southern route, and warned that the strait "is under our control and that as long as America's evil deeds in the region continue, it is completely closed."
On the tape
The knock-on to U.S. financial conditions has been sharp. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.67 percent early Thursday, its highest level since January 2025, as traders priced fresh fuel-driven inflation. The 30-year mortgage rate touched 6.77 percent Wednesday, according to NBC News, the highest since July 2025. Retail gasoline averaged $4.09 a gallon Thursday, up 3 cents from Wednesday.
"Inflation has remained top of the agenda for markets this morning," Deutsche Bank global head of macro research Jim Reid told clients, adding that "the strikes between the US and Iran show no sign of easing."
Riyadh's response
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said Tuesday that the Houthi threats were "a blatant violation of international law" and "fall under acts of maritime piracy." Yemeni political analyst Saddam Al Huraibi told Al Jazeera that the blockade decision was "unwise and reckless" and could accelerate the group's collapse if Riyadh and the internationally recognized Yemeni government use it as pretext for a renewed offensive. Fighting has already been reported between Houthi and government forces near the Red Sea port of Hodeidah.
President Trump on Wednesday threatened to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant for every vessel attacked in the Strait of Hormuz. Washington and Tehran signed a June memorandum of understanding to halt operations and reopen the strait within 60 days; Trump declared the ceasefire "over" three weeks after signing, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned this week of an "eye for an eye" response.