Trump threatens Houthis after attacks on Saudi oil tankers in Red Sea

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has threatened Iran and Yemen’s Houthis with “major military punishment” after the group claimed responsibility for attacks on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.

The Houthis said they targeted the Encelia and Layla after the vessels allegedly violated a blockade imposed on Saudi-linked shipping passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Saudi Arabia’s state news agency and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported a fire aboard a tanker following an attack in the Red Sea. No casualties were reported.

Trump said the United States would hold Iran responsible for further Houthi attacks, describing the group as a proxy of Tehran.

The Houthis announced the blockade earlier this week in response to what they described as Saudi Arabia’s restrictions on Yemen and a recent attack on the international airport in the Houthi-controlled capital, Sana’a.

At least nine tankers have reportedly changed course since the blockade was announced, including three vessels carrying oil loaded at Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu terminal.

Any prolonged closure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait could force ships to travel around the Cape of Good Hope, adding two to three weeks to journeys between Asia and Europe.

The narrow waterway normally handles around 12% of global trade and nearly a quarter of the world’s container traffic.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas condemned the tanker attack and called on the Houthis to stop actions endangering commercial shipping and seafarers.

The attacks came as the United States carried out a 12th consecutive night of strikes on Iranian military targets, including missile and drone storage sites, coastal surveillance facilities and air defence assets.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi warned that Tehran would respond decisively to any attack on its infrastructure, saying Iran would follow an “eye for an eye” policy.