US President Donald Trump said yesterday he would hold Iran accountable for any attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, after the Iranian‑aligned group struck two Saudi oil tankers in a naval blockade in Red Sea, threatening to create a second chokepoint for global oil supplies alongside the Strait of Hormuz.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump added that a nuclear deal between the United States and Saudi Arabia was “totally subject” to Riyadh joining the Abraham Accords recognising Israel.
The statement came as two Chinese very large crude carriers, carrying a combined 4 million barrels of Saudi oil, headed toward the Bab el‑Mandeb Strait. Their passage will test how tightly the Houthis enforce the blockade.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reported an explosion in what they called a mined route south of Hormuz, saying one of three oil tankers caught fire while the other two turned back. The Guards declared the strait “completely closed,” warning no tanker would be allowed to enter or leave without Iranian coordination.
Meanwhile, the US military carried out a fresh round of strikes on Iran at Trump’s direction, marking a 12th successive night of attacks and prompting further Iranian retaliation, reports Reuters.
Tehran said it targeted US missile systems, weapons depots and bases in Jordan and Kuwait, including Al‑Adiri Camp, Ali Al Salem Air Base, Doha Camp and Arifjan Camp. Iranian media also reported US strikes on a military site in Bushehr near the country’s only commercial nuclear reactor, with three attacks in two days. State TV said two people were killed and 11 wounded in a US missile strike on the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iraq.
American strikes have widened from southern to western and central Iran. The US Central Command said operations would continue to “further degrade” Iran’s ability to threaten shipping. Iran’s health ministry reported 53 civilians killed and 592 wounded since late last month.
The conflict has also claimed 18 US service members, with more than 450 injured. Trump attended a ceremony at Dover Air Force Base for four killed in Iranian attacks, calling it “one of the hardest things to do as a president.”
The US House approved a $95 billion budget framework, most earmarked for the Pentagon to fund the war. The State Department issued a worldwide caution urging Americans to avoid travel to the Middle East.
The prospect that disruption could widen to a second sea sent global oil prices surging in one of the steepest rises of the war. Brent crude LCOc1 rose more than 6 percent, breaking through $100 a barrel for the first time since May.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a diplomatic gathering in Southeast Asia the price Iran pays “will get higher every night” until Tehran is ready for a peace deal it would live by.
