Houthi island seizures and Yemen strikes deepen Red Sea shipping fears
Tensions in the Middle East rose further on Tuesday as renewed fighting in Yemen put civilians at risk and added to concerns over shipping through the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz. A Houthi official said Saudi warplanes struck Yemen and killed three people, including two children, while Human Rights Watch said a series of Houthi attacks on commercial vessels could amount to war crimes.
The developments came as shipping routes in the region faced fresh strain after the US and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran on February 28, sparking the war. In other moves across the region, Oman said a targeted oil tanker had been towed to port, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman travelled to Cairo for talks with Egypt's president, Turkey called for renewed diplomacy, and Iran's foreign minister was set to visit China.
Anees al Asbahi, a spokesperson for the Houthi-run Health Ministry, said in a post on X that Saudi airstrikes in Yemen's Taiz province killed three people, including two children. He said two other people were wounded. The claim could not be independently verified, and no details were given on what the Saudi warplanes had targeted.
The escalation came as the Iran-backed Houthis seized the strategic islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish in the southern Red Sea, strengthening their ability to control an important shipping route. The seizures followed their capture of the Red Sea port of Mokha and another strategic island last week. Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's traded oil and gas passes in peacetime, in the opening days of the war. Saudi Arabia has since used the Bab el-Mandeb Strait for crude oil exports. The latest Houthi gains add pressure on Saudi shipments and, in turn, global oil supplies and prices. The developments could give Iran additional leverage in the war.
Human Rights Watch said at least three Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden between July 20 and August 24 could amount to war crimes. The group said the attacks on Saudi-linked shipping began in mid-July in the latest flare-up in Yemen's civil war. Niku Jafarnia, a Yemen and Bahrain researcher at Human Rights Watch, said that irrespective of any politics involved, "attacks on civilian crews carried out deliberately or recklessly are war crimes." The Houthis have said their attacks were retaliation for the Saudi-led coalition blockade on Houthi-held areas in Yemen. Human Rights Watch said the rebels had claimed attacks on at least nine vessels in a month, including two Saudi-flagged vessels, a Tanzania-flagged vessel and a Dominica-flagged vessel, and urged them to "immediately and unconditionally end all unlawful attacks on civilian ships."
In Oman, the Maritime Security Centre said a Panama-flagged oil tanker was towed to port after it was "targeted". It said a fire broke out in the engine room of the El Gaia and 23 crew members were evacuated, while the search for two missing crew members was continuing. The vessel was targeted 15 miles, or 24 kilometres, northeast of Musandam governorate. US Central Command said on Monday that Iran had struck the tanker with a drone over the weekend while it was off the coast of Oman. It said the tanker had already been rendered inoperable last month after being hit by an Iranian missile. CENTCOM also said Iranian claims that the El Gaia had recently struck a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz were false. Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said a vessel was attacked by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz a day earlier, but no damage was reported. It was not immediately clear if that vessel was the El Gaia.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto leader, travelled to Cairo for talks with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. Saudi state-run SPA said the two leaders would discuss ways to "strengthen bilateral brotherly relations, and issues of mutual interest." The trip came as Saudi Arabia faced increasing missile and drone attacks from the Houthis and militias in Iraq. Egypt is a close Saudi ally.
In Baku, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called for fresh diplomatic efforts to quickly reduce regional tensions. He said at a joint news conference with his Azerbaijani counterpart that "safe, uninterrupted and free passage" through the Strait of Hormuz should resume and that the "prewar status quo should be restored as soon as possible." He said Turkey was continuing to engage with all sides, without giving details. China, meanwhile, said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi would visit on Wednesday and meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
The day saw fresh claims of civilian deaths in Yemen, renewed accusations over attacks on commercial shipping, and continued diplomatic activity across the region, underlining how the conflict is affecting both people on the ground and key sea routes.
