Houthis claim Red Sea tanker attacks as US strikes Iran for 12th consecutive night

Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthis claimed missile and drone attacks on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea on Wednesday night, July 22, 2026, intensifying a cycle of maritime strikes and military retaliation that threatens critical shipping lanes and energy supplies. The Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the group targeted the Saudi-flagged tankers Encelia and Layla in retaliation for what he described as violations of a blockade the Houthis announced on Monday.

The Saudi Press Agency confirmed that the tanker Encelia was "targeted while sailing in the Red Sea, resulting in a fire at the bow of the vessel" on Wednesday night. The Saudi Transport General Authority reported that all crew members of the Encelia were safe. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said an "unknown projectile" struck a tanker about 130 kilometers southwest of al-Shuqaiq on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast at 20:00 GMT on Wednesday, causing a fire on board but no casualties. MarineTraffic data, reviewed by BBC Verify, showed the Encelia departed Yanbu on July 21, slowed down at 19:11 GMT on July 22, reported "Not Under Command" at 20:11, and came to a complete stop just before 22:30 near Farasan Islands. No confirmation has been made of an attack on the second tanker, Layla, though the Houthis claimed to have targeted it.

The Houthis announced their "maritime embargo" on Saudi Arabia on Monday, saying it was retaliation for a Saudi blockade of ports and airports in territory they control in northwestern Yemen and for an air strike on Sanaa airport last week blamed on Saudi Arabia. Houthi spokesman Sarea claimed the group had "forced approximately 10 ships to retreat and return" and said they would "continue their naval operations against the Saudi enemy" and "persist in enforcing the siege for a siege equation."

Simultaneously, the US military's Central Command carried out a 12th consecutive night of strikes on Iran on the night of July 22-23, 2026, at the direction of President Donald Trump, targeting what Centcom described as "Iranian military targets, including maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites, and air defence assets." Iranian state media said two people were killed in the US strikes. Jordan and Kuwait reported intercepting missiles and drones launched by Iran in response. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said a tanker caught fire following an explosion in a mined route in the Strait of Hormuz, which the guards described as effectively closed.

Oil prices increased sharply following the latest developments, with Brent crude hitting 100 dollars per barrel, the highest level since the end of May 2026. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed because of Iranian attacks, Saudi Arabia has used its east-west oil pipeline to increase exports via the Red Sea in recent months.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Houthis "apparently have gotten themselves suckered into this" by Iran and expressed hope they would "de-escalate." On Thursday, July 23, President Trump warned the Houthis that if they attacked Saudi ships again, the US would inflict "major military punishment" upon both them and Iran. In a Truth Social post, Trump stated that the Houthis had "acted very responsibly" since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran but are "now they are starting up again, shooting at two Saudi Arabian ships last night." He added: "If they do this again, the U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves."

Mediator Oman said it was working to resume talks between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia. Since October 2023, when the Gaza war began, the Houthis attacked merchant vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with missiles, drones, and small boats, saying they were acting in support of the Palestinians. Those attacks sank four ships and killed nine crew members. Although the Houthis paused their attacks in response to a Gaza ceasefire last October, the number of transits through the Bab al-Mandab Strait has not returned to previous levels. During earlier Houthi attacks, commercial traffic through the strait hit record lows as shipping companies stopped using the Suez Canal and rerouted vessels around southern Africa.