CAIRO (AP) — State-run media in Iran say an Iranian commercial vessel has been struck off Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, with one person killed and four wounded. Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations monitor reported a vessel was hit early Sunday by a projectile while transiting the strait, with no details. There was no immediate statement from the U.S. military, which has previously struck Iranian-flagged vessels as part of its blockade of Iranian ports. The attack came a day before Tehran seeks to brief regional countries on its contested efforts to manage shipping traffic on the strait.
Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen claim new attacks on Saudi Arabia
CAIRO (AP) — Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have claimed new attacks on Saudi Arabia. The rebels in recent days captured a key port city and an island on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial shipping alternative to the Iran-threatened Strait of Hormuz. That has alarmed both markets and Yemeni civilians, who have been fleeing by the tens of thousands amid fears of a return to civil war. Overnight, the Saudi civil defense reported injuries and damage from a projectile near the Yemen border. Yemen’s government vows to fight back after its forces made a “painful” withdrawal from the Red Sea coast.
Saudi Arabia has few options as it faces mounting threats from Iran and its allies
Houthi rebels in Yemen are advancing toward a crucial trade chokepoint. Attacks blamed on Iraqi militias forced the closure of a major pipeline. Iran and its allies are unleashing a nightmare scenario for Saudi Arabia and unsettling global markets. Control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait could allow the Iran-backed rebels to cut off another major export route for Saudi oil as Iran disrupts the Strait of Hormuz. The Saudis could use U.S. support to fight back. But President Donald Trump seems reluctant to widen an already unpopular and stalemated war in the Middle East.
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