In a dramatic turn of events, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, declared on Thursday their responsibility for striking two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. Simultaneously, U.S. forces marked their 12th consecutive night of attacks on Iran, as both nations intensify their struggle for dominance over critical maritime routes.
This assault by the Houthis threatens to escalate into a broader conflict, igniting fears of further turmoil in a war that has already sent shockwaves through the global economy. Prices for fuel and various goods have reached dizzying heights worldwide. As tensions at the Gulf escalate, hopes for diplomatic resolutions remain distant.
The U.S. Central Command clarified that its ongoing airstrikes are aimed at significantly diminishing Iran’s capacity to endanger civilian mariners and commercial vessels navigating regional seas. This offensive is part of U.S. efforts to reclaim control over the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz and to stabilize international maritime trade.
Earlier on Wednesday, President Donald Trump issued a stark warning: should Iran target a ship in the strait, the U.S. would respond by demolishing a bridge or power plant. This rhetoric underscores an escalating trend of both sides targeting civilian infrastructure.
International legal standards generally prohibit such attacks unless there’s evidence that the infrastructure is being utilized for military objectives.
“From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT,” Trump wrote on social media.
Iran-backed Houthis say they attacked oil tankers
The Houthis said they had struck two tankers named Encelia and Layla in the Red Sea, leading to fires on both vessels. That would be their first reported attack on a vessel since they announced a blockade of Saudi-linked shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait earlier this week in retaliation for the kingdom’s blockade on Yemen and a recent attack on the international airport in Yemen’s rebel-held capital, Sanaa.
Bab el-Mandeb, at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, is a vital shipping chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Around 12% of the world’s trade, including a fourth of global container traffic, passes through the narrows, moving between Europe and Asia via Egypt’s Suez Canal.
Saudi state media reported that the Encelia was set ablaze by an attack while sailing overnight in the Red Sea, citing an unidentified source from the General Authority of Transport. The Saudi Press Agency reported that a strike caused a fire at the bow of the ship, but no casualties. It did not mention the Layla.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center, UKMTO, said it had received a report of a tanker being struck by “an unknown projectile” 70 nautical miles (80 miles, 130 kilometers) southwest of Al Shuqaiq, Saudi Arabia, in the Red Sea. It said no casualties had been reported.
Both sides dig in over Strait of Hormuz dispute
The continued American airstrikes are occurring as both sides have dug in on their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global energy that remains largely closed. The closure of the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas passed during peacetime, has jolted the world economy with effects far beyond the Middle East.
Iran says it has the right to manage traffic and potentially charge fees in the strait, which was open to all and toll-free before the war. It has attacked ships using a route through the strait that is overseen by U.S. forces and intended to be outside Tehran’s control.
In response to Iran’s attacks, the U.S. re-imposed a blockade on Iranian ports and began the widening campaign of strikes across the country. On Tuesday, Trump signaled that U.S. forces could soon target an under-construction Iranian nuclear site buried deep under a mountain.
Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who has led negotiations with the U.S., appeared to brush off Trump’s threats.
“We have repeatedly said that the situation of the strait will not return to prewar conditions,” he wrote on social media.
The costs of war are mounting
Trump traveled to Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday for the arrival of the remains of four U.S. service members. A day earlier Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth estimated in a fiery Senate hearing that the U.S. had spent $37.5 billion on the war so far.
In Iran, state media reported that U.S. missiles struck locations overnight near the cities of Ahvaz, Ramshir and Andimeshk in western Iran, and two people were killed in a U.S. missile strike in the town of Shalamcheh on the Iraqi border.
Iran has responded to U.S. attacks by targeting energy infrastructure and desalination plants that provide drinking water in parched neighboring Gulf countries.
Military officials in Kuwait said on social media that their air defenses were “confronting attacks by hostile drones, following the sinful Iranian aggression.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would adopt an “eye for an eye” defense doctrine.
“Any aggression against Iran, including our infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response,” he posted Wednesday on X.
Diplomatic efforts show no signs of progress
Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni held meetings in recent days in Pakistan, a key mediator in the conflict, seeking to revive diplomacy. But it was unclear what new arrangement might be reached to end the war, which lately has become a battle for control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Interior Ministry spokesperson Ali Zeinivand said “diplomacy isn’t called off” and that messages were still being exchanged, without elaborating, according to IRNA.
An Arab diplomat said Gulf states are increasingly pessimistic about finding an off-ramp for escalating hostilities and are particularly concerned about the latest round of threats.
The diplomat said countries in the region, in addition to Pakistan and Turkey, are continuing to push for de-escalation but that chances for improvement currently appear bleak. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.
At a regional summit in the Philippines, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. remains open to negotiations with Iran, “but right now they don’t seem to be serious about that” so instead the focus is on protecting shipping.
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Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Michelle L. Price and Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and Fatma Khaled in Cairo contributed to this report.
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