Iran-US War Live Updates: Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have said that they carried out a military operation targeting two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, claiming the vessels had violated the group’s recently announced maritime restrictions. In a statement aired by the group’s Al-Masirah television, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said Houthi forces targeted the tankers, identified as ENCELIA and LAYLA, using “ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones.”
The Red Sea escalation followed a Houthi threat to blockade Saudi ports, widening the pressure on key Middle East shipping routes already shaken by fighting over the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump had threatened to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant for every attack on shipping in Hormuz, drawing an “eye for an eye” warning from Tehran as both sides sharpened threats in the escalating war.
Fighting over the vital energy waterway has collapsed a preliminary deal between the United States and Iran, with Tehran reimposing its blockade and firing on vessels that seek to transit. “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.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would respond in kind to any attack on its infrastructure. “Our defence doctrine is clear: eye for an eye,” Araghchi wrote on X. “Any aggression against Iran, including our infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response.”
