Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said early Thursday they had attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, and the US military conducted a 12th night of strikes against Iran as the two countries vie for control of vital shipping lanes.
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, there were no signs of progress in diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
US 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.
President Donald Trump warned earlier Wednesday that the US 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.
“From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT,” Trump wrote on social media.
