Houthis Hit Saudi Tanker Off Yanbu, Vow to Escalate Red Sea Campaign

Yemen’s Houthis struck the Saudi oil tanker Wafa off the Red Sea port of Yanbu, their military spokesman said, and vowed to intensify a campaign that is turning the northern Red Sea into a second maritime pressure point alongside the Strait of Hormuz. Spokesman Yahya Saree said the vessel was hit by “a number of missiles.”

The strike marks the eighth Saudi vessel hit since the Houthis declared a blockade of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on July 22, with 29 more forced to turn back, according to the group’s own accounting. Saree said the Houthis “affirm that their operations will continue and escalate in targeting Saudi oil tankers in the northern Red Sea to close all access points and prevent their passage.”

A Second Chokepoint Under Pressure

The geography matters. Bab el-Mandeb, at the southern end of the Red Sea, has been the Houthis’ traditional target range. Yanbu sits far to the north, near the Suez approaches—so a confirmed strike there signals reach the group has not consistently demonstrated before, and it widens the stretch of water shippers now have to treat as hostile.

That comes as Bloomberg reported the Houthis explicitly warning they would target tankers in the northern Red Sea. Taken with the ongoing Strait of Hormuz standoff, two of the region’s critical oil arteries are now contested at once—one by state negotiation, the other by non-state force.

The Toll Is Mounting

The Wafa strike follows the sinking of an Indian-flagged vessel earlier this week, and reporting points to further incidents: Fox News reported a Greek-flagged oil tanker left adrift and afire in a separate suspected Houthi attack. Crew safety in these incidents is often unclear in the first hours, and initial claims—including the attackers’ own—should be treated as provisional until independently confirmed.

What is not in dispute is the trajectory. Eight Saudi vessels hit and 29 turned back in roughly two weeks is not harassment at the margins; it is a functioning blockade of a specific flag, enforced by missiles, with the stated intent to expand.

Why It Registers Beyond Yemen

For oil markets already pricing the Hormuz negotiations, a widening Red Sea threat is the second variable in the same equation. Rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope adds time and cost; insurance premiums for northern Red Sea transits climb with every confirmed strike. Saudi Arabia, whose Yanbu terminal is a major western-coast export node, now faces a direct threat to that outlet.

What To Watch

The near-term markers: whether the northern-Red-Sea strikes are sustained or prove to be a one-off demonstration of range; whether other flags beyond Saudi and the earlier Indian-flagged vessel are drawn in; and whether the campaign hardens Riyadh’s posture at a moment when Washington is trying to lower the temperature with Tehran. A blockade that expands geographically while the US courts a Hormuz deal pulls in two directions at once.

This is a developing story based on statements from the Houthis’ military spokesman and reporting by Bloomberg and Fox News. Casualty and damage details, including claims made by the attackers, are as reported and may change as incidents are independently verified.