Iran has vowed to continue its military operations for as long as it remains under attack, as the renewed Middle East conflict spread to the Red Sea with Iran-backed Houthi rebels claiming attacks on Saudi oil tankers.
The fighting resumed after a ceasefire that lasted only a few weeks, escalating tensions across the region and disrupting global energy markets as Iran and the United States continue to contest control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
The Houthis said they had launched missile and drone attacks on two Saudi oil tankers, the Encelia and the Layla, after announcing a blockade of Saudi ports. British maritime security agency UKMTO reported that a tanker was struck by an unidentified projectile about 70 nautical miles southwest of Al Shuqaiq, causing a fire that the crew was battling. Saudi Arabia later confirmed that the Encelia had been hit but did not comment on the second vessel.
Iran’s military spokesperson, Mohammad Akraminia, said the country’s retaliatory operations would continue as long as the United States targeted Iranian infrastructure and coastal areas.
“The armed forces’ retaliatory attacks will continue as long as the US attacks on the country’s infrastructure and coastal areas continue,” he said in remarks carried by Iranian state television.
The statement came after fresh US strikes on Iranian military positions. US Central Command said it had carried out its twelfth consecutive night of operations aimed at weakening Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping and civilian vessels in regional waters.
US President Donald Trump warned that Washington would target Iranian civilian infrastructure if Tehran continued attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
“Any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz… the United States will bomb and destroy one bridge or power plant,” Trump wrote on social media.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded by saying Tehran would retaliate against any attacks on its infrastructure, declaring that Iran’s defence doctrine was “eye for an eye.”
Iranian state media reported that two people were killed in a US strike near Shalamcheh on the country’s border with Iraq. It also said two US missiles struck Bushehr, home to Iran’s only civilian nuclear power plant.
Meanwhile, Jordan and Kuwait reported intercepting incoming strikes, while Iran’s military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed they were targeting US assets in both countries.
The Revolutionary Guards also said they had stopped three oil tankers attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, warning that any vessel passing without Iran’s approval would face consequences.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most critical shipping routes, carrying around one-fifth of global oil supplies before the conflict intensified.
The renewed hostilities pushed oil prices higher, with Brent crude rising four per cent to $97.80 per barrel, raising concerns over inflation and slower global economic growth.
Speaking on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian summit in Manila, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Iran of drawing the Houthis into the conflict.
He said the Houthis had largely avoided direct involvement earlier in the war but had now been “suckered” into attacking Saudi shipping, adding that he hoped they would de-escalate.
Oman, which has long served as a mediator between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, expressed deep concern over the deteriorating security situation in the Red Sea and said it was working to revive talks between the two sides.
