Cairo — Yemen’s Houthi movement claimed responsibility on Sunday for a missile strike targeting an Israeli-owned oil tanker near Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port city of Yanbu, escalating an already volatile confrontation across the region.
According to the Houthis, the strikes was directed at the Liberia-flagged Scarlet Ray, which they identified as linked to Israel. The incident is the latest in a string of maritime operations that the Iran-aligned group has carried out since late 2023, part of a broader campaign against what it describes as Israeli aggression in Palestine and the wider Arab world.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center (UKMTO), which monitors commercial shipping, confirmed that the tanker reported a loud explosion close by, describing it as a “splash in close proximity from an unknown projectile.” The crew was unharmed, and the vessel continued on its journey without sustaining major damage.
Maritime security firm Ambrey assessed that the tanker fit the Houthis’ established target profile, which has repeatedly focused on vessels tied directly or indirectly to Israeli companies. Analysts said the strike demonstrated not only the group’s persistence but also its growing ability to disrupt one of the world’s busiest maritime corridors.
The strike comes just days after an Israeli air raid in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, killed the Houthi prime minister along with several senior officials, an assault that sparked vows of retaliation. Sunday’s incident appears to be part of that promised response, highlighting how the conflict is now playing out both on land and at sea.
Saudi Arabia, which has been attempting to maintain fragile calm along its southern border, has not publicly commented on the strike. Regional observers warn that the escalation could endanger energy supplies and further destabilize Red Sea shipping lanes, through which a significant share of global oil and commercial cargo flows.
The United States, which has stationed naval forces in the region, has been under increasing pressure to protect commercial vessels, though its support for Israel has only deepened resentment among Yemenis and other Arab populations. Critics argue that Washington’s stance risks dragging the region into a wider conflagration.
According to Reuters, the Houthis announced that the strike on the Scarlet Ray was carried out as part of their continuing campaign against Israeli-linked assets, underscoring their determination to retaliate for the deaths of their leaders and to demonstrate their reach far beyond Yemen’s borders.
