Houthis Open New Front in Iran War by Targeting Ships in Red Sea

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(Bloomberg) — The Iran-backed Houthis claimed their first attack on commercial ships in recent months, opening a new front in the US-Iran war that has already disrupted global energy supplies and rattled bond markets.

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The militant group, based in Yemen, said it targeted two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea with missiles and drones.

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The Saudi government confirmed an attack on one refined-products tanker, called the Encelia. The British navy also said a tanker was struck by a projectile near the Saudi town of Al Shuqaiq in the southern part of the sea. The Houthis said the second vessel was named Layla, which is a crude-oil tanker.

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While it’s unclear if the ships were hit and damaged, the move could effectively close another maritime chokepoint vital to energy markets, following Iran’s shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz. Some vessels are already avoiding the Bab el-Mandeb strait at the bottom of the Red Sea, while oil prices are rising further.

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Brent crude jumped 3.8% on Thursday to almost $98 a barrel, taking its gains since July 10 — around when the latest US-Iran flare-up began — to around 30%.

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The Houthi assault came hours after President Donald Trump said American forces would destroy one bridge or power plant each time Iran shoots at vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

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Washington carried out its 12th consecutive day of airstrikes on Iranian military sites overnight, including missile and air-defense facilities. Iran again fired upon US bases and military sites in Kuwait and Jordan.

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The skirmishes show little sign of easing, with neither the US nor Iran backing down and saying it’s time for new negotiations. The attacks by the Houthis have escalated the conflict further, even if hostilities remain less intense than during the height of the war in March and early April.

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The Red Sea has emerged as a vital workaround for crude exports, particularly from Saudi Arabia. The port of Yanbu became the main outlet for Saudi oil exports, allowing it to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, through which hardly any vessels are sailing.

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The Houthis are part of Iran’s Axis of Resistance, a loose alliance of armed groups funded and trained by the Islamic Republic but operate with a degree of autonomy. The Houthis, who control Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and the Red Sea port of Hodeida, disrupted shipping with drone and missile attacks after Israel began its campaign against Hamas in Gaza in 2023. However, they ended that campaign in May 2025 in a truce with the US, which bombed them along with the UK and Israel.

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The new Houthi strikes come days after they said they would blockade Saudi ports in response to the kingdom’s attacks on Sanaa. Riyadh carried out an air campaign for around seven years to oust the Islamist group, before the two sides agreed a ceasefire in 2022.

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Trump has said the US will deal with the Houthis, without saying how or suggesting whether he will restart strikes against them.