World
Yemen’s Houthis hit tankers in Red Sea as US strikes Iran for 12th consecutive night
The Iran-backed Houthis struck two Saudi oil tankers on Thursday that they accused of violating a naval blockade imposed by the group, signaling a potential new front in the US-Iran conflict, as the US military struck Iran for the 12th successive night.
The attack came after the Houthis said on Monday that they were imposing a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia, a move that could significantly widen the war and strain the US military.
Yemen’s Houthis said they targeted two Saudi oil tankers, identified as Encelia and Laylia, saying the vessels violated their naval blockade.
The Encelia was targeted while sailing in the Red Sea, causing a fire at the front of the ship, Saudi state news agency SPA reported, citing an official source at the General Transport Authority.
The source said all crew members were safe and that authorities had taken necessary measures to secure the vessel and crew and protect the marine environment.
Disputes over management of the Strait of Hormuz led to the collapse of a preliminary deal reached in April between Washington and Tehran, reigniting the simmering five-month conflict. A Houthi maritime blockade may create a second chokepoint on global oil supplies alongside Iran’s near-closure of the Hormuz.
Before the Red Sea flare-up, Trump threatened Wednesday to bomb one Iranian bridge or power plant in return for each attack on shipping in Hormuz, reiterating his longstanding threat to go after Iranian infrastructure. Trump said on Tuesday he would “take care of” the Houthis if they followed through on their own blockade threat against Saudi ports.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said Thursday they’d stopped three oil tankers from transiting Hormuz after the Houthi attack on tankers.
Two Chinese very large crude carriers carrying a combined 4 million barrels of Saudi Arabian oil were heading on Thursday toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the entry point to the Red Sea, shipping data showed.
Millions of barrels per day of Saudi oil have been heading to the kingdom’s Red Sea port of Yanbu to avoid the Strait of Hormuz. If shipments cannot exit toward the Arabian Sea through the Red Sea’s southern strait, they have only the northern route through the Suez Canal, adding weeks and costs to the journey.
Meanwhile, the US said it completed its latest round of strikes on Iran at the president’s direction late Wednesday night.
“The mission will continue to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters,” the US Central Command said in a statement.
According to a CENTCOM statement, the strikes hit Iranian “maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites, and air defense assets.”
Earlier tonight, U.S. military released this statement:
“At 10:30 p.m. ET on July 22, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces completed another round of strikes against Iran for the 12th consecutive night.
U.S. forces struck Iranian military targets including maritime… pic.twitter.com/riUYgFaSSW
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) July 23, 2026
“This month, American forces have targeted dozens of Iranian military sites on land while resuming a blockade against Iran at sea,” the statement added. “As of today, CENTCOM has redirected nine commercial vessels and disabled one to prevent ships from entering or departing Iranian ports.”
Iranian state media reported that two US missiles hit Bushehr, home to the country’s only civilian nuclear plant and a frequent target of Washington, in overnight airstrikes.
It also claimed the US attacked Shalamcheh on the Islamic Republic’s border with Iraq, killing two people.
In response to the attacks, Iran said it carried out drone attacks on bases in Kuwait hosting US military assets.
The IRGC claimed attacks on Ali Al Salem base, Camp Udairi and a telecommunications tower, while the army said it targeted Camp Doha, Ali Al Salem base and Camp Arifjan, according to separate statements by the forces carried by state TV.
The IRGC also said that it had attacked and destroyed several American military assets in Jordan, including a radar for the US THAAD missile defense system, a Patriot system, a C-RAM radar and a helicopter hangar, according to a statement aired by state TV.
Kuwait’s army said it intercepted hostile drones following several days of Iranian strikes on the country.
“Kuwaiti air defenses are currently responding to hostile drone threats,” the army says in an overnight message on X. “Any explosions that may be heard are the result of air defense systems intercepting hostile targets.”
Jordan said it had shot down four missiles and four drones, while air alert sirens sounded in Bahrain, where an AFP correspondent in Manama heard an explosion.
Despite claims from Washington that it has destroyed Iran militarily, Tehran has demonstrated it retains missile and drone capabilities.
Iran pounded vital water desalination and energy plants in Kuwait this week and struck US military assets there, in Bahrain and in Jordan.
Each side has also reported an escalating human toll.
An Iranian health ministry official said 53 people had been killed and 592 wounded since late last month. It did not differentiate between civilians and military personnel. Since the US and Israel launched the war on February 28, thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced.
The war has also led to the deaths of 18 US service members and injured more than 450 troops. Trump attended a ceremony on Wednesday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for four US service members killed in Iranian attacks on military bases over the last few days — three in Jordan and one in Iraq.
“For me it’s one of the hardest things to do as a president. But it has to be done,” Trump said before leaving for the ceremony.
Later, at a speech in Georgia, Trump struck a different tone, saying of the war, “I call it a skirmish.”
The US and Israel together launched a campaign against Iran on February 28 to degrade the regime’s military capabilities, distance threats posed by the country — including its nuclear and ballistic missile programs — and “create the conditions” for the Iranian people to topple the regime, the military and other Israeli leaders have said.
Israel respected the US-Iran ceasefire that began April 8, and the government, while not included in the process of negotiating the US-Iran memorandum of understanding signed last month, did not object to it even though it purported to bind both the US “and its allies.”
It has, so far, not joined the renewed fighting since the truce broke down.
