Key events
More on Yemen’s Houthis claiming strikes on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea:
The master of one tanker reported being struck by an unknown projectile about 70 nautical miles south-west of Al Shuqaiq, causing a fire that the crew was fighting, the British naval security monitor UKMTO said.
The Iran-aligned Houthis warned shipping companies on Wednesday that their tankers risk being attacked if they used Saudi Arabian ports, as the militia enforced a blockade it announced the previous day.
The Houthi warning for the Red Sea – coming on top of Iran’s threat to shipping on the other side of the Arabian peninsular in the Gulf – could affect the substantial Saudi oil exports that have so far been unscathed by the months-long conflict and deepen the rapidly escalating crisis in the region, as Peter Beaumont has written.
Donald Trump said he would “take care of” the Houthis if they followed through on their blockade threat against Saudi ports.
The Houthis have been broadcasting radio warnings to vessels, the International Chamber of Shipping told Agence France-Presse.
The message warned that “in case of non-compliance of Yemeni armed forces decision, those ships will be in our target”.
Kuwait’s air defences are responding to hostile drone threats amid “Iranian aggression”, the Kuwaiti army is saying.
Any explosion sounds heard were the result of attacks being intercepted, it said on social media.
Iran has continued to strike at countries around the region hosting American forces in response to ongoing US attacks.
Opening: US launches more strikes on Iran as Yemen’s Houthis claim Red Sea attacks
Welcome to our live coverage of the continuing crisis in the Middle East.
The US military announced on Thursday evening it had began a 12th consecutive night of strikes against Iranian military targets at the direction of Donald Trump.
US Central Command said the strikes would “continue to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters”.
It came as Yemen’s Houthis said they carried out missile and drone strikes on Wednesday on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea after declaring a maritime embargo on the kingdom amid the US war with Iran.
The Houthis said in a statement posted on Telegram that they “carried out a qualitative military operation targeting two Saudi oil tankers that violated the blockade”, naming the vessels as the Encelia and the Layla.
Meanwhile, the US signed a landmark nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that could allow the kingdom to enrich uranium.
The US Department of Energy said on Wednesday its secretary and his Saudi counterpart signed a “peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement”, along with a “bilateral safeguards agreement”.
We’ll bring you more on these and other developments in our continuing live coverage.
