Yemen’s Houthi rebel group targeted tankers in the Red Sea on Wednesday, threatening to escalate the Iran war to a regional conflict. 

As The Gateway Pundit reported on Monday, Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have also imposed a naval blockade on the Bab ​el-Mandeb strait, the gateway between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden near Saudi Arabia’s western coastline. By stopping Saudi oil exports to Asia, the blockade could reduce global oil supply by 7%, Reuters notes.

The Houthis’ armed forces described the blockade in a statement as “a maritime embargo ⁠against the criminal Saudi enemy, based on the equation of ‘an eye ​for an eye’, effective immediately.”

Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, warned on Monday that the blockade risks an “even wider” regional conflict, CBS reported. “We’ve seen the reports and are very much concerned by the renewed Houthi threats against Saudi Arabia, against freedom of navigation, which leads to the risk of an even wider regional escalation,” Dujarric said.

President Trump responded to the Houthis’ threat yesterday, telling reporters, “We’ll have to see what happens,” noting that no attacks had taken place. “If something like that happens, we take care of it,” he added, pointing to past actions taken against the Houthis like Operation Rough Rider in Spring 2025, when they last targeted shipping in the Red Sea.

“I think that if there is something like that, we’ll just have to take care of business,” he added.

WATCH:

Now, the Houthis have taken credit for an attack on one tanker off the Saudi coast and claimed to have targeted another.

Per CBS:

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels claimed to attack a commercial oil tanker in the Red Sea on Wednesday, a move that could further snarl shipping.

The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Centre said Wednesday it received reports of a tanker being hit by an “unknown projectile” off the coast of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, causing an onboard fire. No casualties were reported.

At around the same time, a spokesperson for the Houthis said on social media that the group carried out an operation to attack two Saudi oil tankers. Days earlier, the Houthis threatened a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia, which has fought the Yemeni group for years.

The apparent strike could pose further problems for a shipping industry that is already struggling with Iranian threats to attack unapproved ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the world’s oceans.

This comes as President Trump issues new warnings against Iran, threatening to hit one power plant or bridge for every ship they hit in the Strait of Hormuz after Iran attacked another tanker near the coast of Oman on Tuesday.

Iran threatened to retaliate against attacks on its infrastructure by targeting a “powerful and decisive response” against infrastructure and US interests across the region.

MORE:

JUST IN: Trump Says US Will Destroy One Bridge or Power Plant “Any Time Iran Shoots at a Ship” – Iran Threatens to Hit Bridges and Energy Facilities Across Middle East

Meanwhile, US forces are executing a twelfth consecutive night of attacks against Iranian military capabilities.

This is a developing story. 

Jordan Conradson Jordan Conradson is The Gateway Pundit's White House correspondent. Jordan has played a critical role in exposing fraud and corruption in Arizona's elections and elected officials. His reporting on election crimes in Maricopa County led to the resignation of one election official, and he was later banned from the Maricopa County press room for his courage in pursuit of the truth. TGP and Jordan finally gained access after suing Maricopa County, America's fourth largest county, and winning at the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Conradson looks forward to bringing his aggressive style of journalism to the Swamp.

You can email Jordan Conradson here, and read more of Jordan Conradson's articles here.

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