Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed responsibility Wednesday for a missile strike on a Saudi-flagged oil tanker in the Red Sea, as the Iran-backed militia group looks to further disrupt commercial shipping in the region.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group struck the Wafa oil tanker with several ballistic missiles Wednesday morning in the northern Red Sea off the coast of Yanbu, a critical port city in Saudi Arabia.
There was no immediate comment from Saudi military or maritime authorities.
It remains unclear if the strike resulted in casualties or severe damage.
The vessel, a chemical and product tanker built in 2014, was last recorded in July attempting to transit the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the south of the Red Sea.
The Wafa could have changed course to avoid the waterway after the Houthis announced a blockade of all Saudi ships in the Red Sea. The Houthis control a large portion of southwestern Yemen, near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The Wafa is the eighth Saudi oil tanker the Houthis have said their forces have struck since announcing the blockade and one of the farthest from the strait. Mr. Saree has said the Houthis have turned away 29 other tankers since last month.
The Red Sea has taken on an outsized role in transporting Saudi oil since Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz this year. The kingdom has increasingly relied on the sea to offload its crude exports through Aramco’s East-West Pipeline.
The Strait of Hormuz remains closed to international shipping despite a U.S. naval blockade that has been in effect for nearly a month.
Iran is in talks with Oman, which also borders the Strait of Hormuz, to create a framework agreement for future control over the waterway. Some reports indicate the deal could require vessels to divide their transit time between two routes in the strait, entering through Iranian waters and leaving via a route close to Oman.
Iran is reportedly pushing to include in the deal service charges that would be levied on commercial ships that move through the strait. U.S. officials have publicly rejected similar proposals and said this week that any deal to reopen the strait would not include fees of any kind.
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