Houthis attack two oil tankers in the Red Sea / US launches more attacks on Iran

2026-07-23 07:37:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Yemen's Houthis have claimed to have attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, as the US launched its 12th consecutive night of strikes on Iran.

Iranian state media said two people were killed in US strikes on Wednesday and a tanker was hit by an explosion on a mined road in the Strait of Hormuz.

Before the latest round of attacks, US President Donald Trump had threatened to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant if Iran attacked a ship in the strait and to "take care" of the Houthis if they blocked the Red Sea.

If confirmed, the attack on them would be the first since the Iran-backed group announced a "naval embargo" against Saudi Arabia.

The group's military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said they had targeted the ships with drones and missiles for suspected violations of the naval blockade. Saree added that the Houthis vowed to continue their naval operations and would continue "to implement the equation of 'siege for the sake of a siege.'"

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operation (UKMTO) reported that an "unknown projectile" hit a Saudi tanker about 130km off Al Shuqaiq in Saudi Arabia at 20:00 GMT. The attack caused a fire but no casualties, it said.

US Central Command (Centcom) said yesterday evening that it had launched strikes on Trump's orders "to further degrade Iran's ability to threaten civilian sailors and merchant vessels transiting regional waters."

The attacks targeted Iranian military targets, including naval capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites, and air defense assets.

Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain quickly reported responding to the air threats, before the Iranian military said it had targeted US assets in all three countries. Iranian state media reported that two people had been killed in US airstrikes in the south of the country, near the border with Iraq.

Meanwhile, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the Strait of Hormuz was “completely closed” after an explosion in the channel, Iranian state media reported. The IRGC said it had stopped three oil tankers from passing through the strait. One tanker caught fire and two others were turned back after trying to pass through a mined passageway south of the strait. /CNA