Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they carried out a series of attacks on Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
In a video statement on the 5th, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed, "We successfully struck the Saudi Arabian oil tanker Wafa by launching multiple ballistic missiles off the coast of Yanbu in the northern Red Sea." He added that the tanker was "the eighth vessel targeted since the start of the naval blockade on the 22nd of last month." Yanbu is a Saudi Arabian export hub that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. Since the Strait of Hormuz was blocked following the war between the United States and Iran, Saudi Arabia has been exporting a significant volume of crude oil through the Red Sea route via the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The Houthi rebels also claimed they attacked a Saudi Arabian oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden. Spokesman Saree announced, "We struck the Saudi Arabian oil tanker Daisy with a ballistic missile in the Gulf of Aden."
Earlier, the Houthi rebels declared the end of a four-year ceasefire on the 20th of last month, pointing to Saudi Arabia as being behind the bombing of the airport in Sanaa, Yemen's capital. They subsequently warned of a full naval blockade against Saudi Arabia and attacked two Saudi Arabian oil tankers attempting to pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on the 23rd of last month.
The Houthi rebels then stepped back on the 24th of last month as the United States showed signs of moving to attack them, stating, "There will be no full closure as some have suggested." At the time, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam stressed, "This measure is a limited naval blockade affecting only the Saudi Arabian side."
