Houthis attack 2 Saudi-flagged tankers in Red Sea opening second front in Middle East war

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi terrorists fired on two Saudi oil tankers off Riyadh’s southwest coast, effectively spreading the simmering US-Iran conflict to the Red Sea on Wednesday.The Houthis claimed to have attacked the Saudi tankers ENCELIA and LAYLA with missiles and drones “for their violation of the blockade decision,” Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree posted to X.The Iran-backed terror group imposed the blockade on Saudi Arabian ports on Monday.The announcement came as the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported a tanker “being struck by an unknown projectile which has caused a fire onboard that the crew are currently fighting.”“There are no reported casualties and no environmental impact,” UKMTO said.Until now, the Houthis have largely stayed out of the conflict.Meanwhile, the US kicked off its 12th consecutive day of strikes on Iran, US Central Command announced in a post to X.“At 5:30 p.m.

ET today, U.S.forces began launching more strikes against Iranian military targets at the Commander in Chief’s direction,” the combatant command said.

“The mission will continue to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters.”The Houthi attack comes a day after two oil tankers carrying Saudi crude in the Red Sea — bound for China and India — were forced to turn around on Tuesday following warnings from Houthi rebels.That incident marked the first oil disruption incident in the critical Red Sea trade route after the terror group declared the naval blockade against Saudi Arabia....