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Yemen's Houthis claimed responsibility Wednesday for striking two Saudi oil tankers — the Encelia and the Layla — in the Red Sea, executing on their declared naval blockade against Saudi Arabia. Saudi state media SPA confirmed the Encelia caught fire at its bow; all crew safe. UK Maritime Trade Operations confirmed a separate Saudi tanker was hit ~130km from Al Shuqaiq, also causing a fire. No casualties reported.
If the campaign continues, it puts both major maritime chokepoints under simultaneous Houthi pressure — Strait of Hormuz (Persian Gulf) and Bab el-Mandeb (Red Sea mouth) — strangling crude from two of the world's largest producers at once. Brent crude rose past $95/bbl Thursday morning on the news (Financial Express). Three Saudi tankers bound for China and India had already turned around Tuesday before the strike — the shipping industry saw it coming (the Guardian).
Rubio's comment was telling: "I hope that they will stop. They got suckered into this by the Iranians." That's a public admission of Iranian command-and-control over Houthi military ops — while signaling no direct escalation against Houthi targets is planned. At $95 Brent, every further Houthi strike adds directly to the global inflationary spiral already running hot.
