CAIRO (AP) — Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea early Thursday, as the U.S. military conducted a 12th night of strikes against Iran and diplomatic efforts showed dwindling progress.
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The Houthi attack threatened to open a new front in a war that has roiled the global economy, sending prices for fuel and other goods surging across the world, with the standoff in the Gulf deepening as the United States and Iran vie for control of vital Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. Central Command said its strikes were designed to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters,” as the Americans push to regain control over the Strait of Hormuz and restore the flow of international shipping.
U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that the U.S. would destroy one bridge or power plant each time Iran shoots at a ship in the strait.
Both sides have increasingly threatened civilian infrastructure. International law generally prohibits such attacks unless the infrastructure is being used for military purposes.
Diplomatic efforts show no signs of progress
A day after saying the U.S. was still open to diplomacy, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio struck a darker tone Thursday.
“The price will continue to get higher every single night until they come to their senses,” Rubio told reporters while traveling in the Philippines for a regional summit. He insisted Iran is “begging” for a deal but that Trump “doesn’t see a lot of utility in responding to their overtures at this point, because, frankly, Iran is clearly not ready to make a deal, at least not when they’re willing to live by.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has said Tehran would adopt an “eye for an eye” defense doctrine.
“The president’s policy is a head for an eye,” Rubio said. “They will pay a very heavy price for the things they’re doing.”
Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni was 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.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar urged the U.S and Iran “to exercise restraint, uphold their commitments, and pursue peaceful engagement.” Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the attacks on the Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, a statement from his office said.
An Arab diplomat said Gulf states are increasingly pessimistic about finding an off-ramp. The diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, said regional countries, in addition to Pakistan and Turkey, continue to push for de-escalation but that chances of improvement appear bleak.
Iran-backed Houthis say they attacked oil tankers
The Houthis’ SABA news agency said the rebels had struck two tankers, the Encelia and the Layla, in the Red Sea, leading to fires on both. 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 there, moving between Europe and Asia via Egypt’s Suez Canal.
A senior Houthi official said the blockade on Saudi-linked shipping would remain in effect until a years-old Saudi blockade against the Houthis is lifted. The official gave no details of the attack and spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
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The state-run Saudi Press Agency reported an attack set the Encelia ablaze overnight in the Red Sea. It said there were no casualties. It did not mention the Layla.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center, UKMTO, said it 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.
Asked about the tanker attack, Rubio said he hoped the Houthis would “de-escalate.”
“I think the Houthis, frankly, got snookered into this thing by the Iranians. And they were smart to stay out of it, and they should stay out of it and they should stop. We’ll see what happens there. Obviously, it’s not a positive development,” Rubio said.
Both sides dig in over Strait of Hormuz dispute
Iran and the U.S. have dug in on their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global energy. 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.
U.S. strikes in Iran overnight
Iranian 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 providing drinking water in parched neighboring Gulf countries.
Jordanian authorities said the country’s military had intercepted three missiles Thursday morning, with a fourth falling in an empty area, while six drones were intercepted Wednesday night. Bahrain’s Interior Ministry posted on X that sirens had sounded and urged the public to remain calm and head to a safe area.
Overnight, military officials in Kuwait said on social media that their air defenses were “confronting attacks by hostile drones.”
Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Associated Press writers Collin Binkley and Konstantin Toropin in Washington, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan; Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Michelle L. Price and Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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