The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said Wednesday that Saudi-backed forces had launched dozens of airstrikes overnight across four Yemeni provinces, after rebel attacks on Saudi Arabia ignited fires at several oil facilities and wounded dozens of people.
Separately, Iranian state media said Iranian forces struck several tankers and two U.S. ships in retaliation for U.S. strikes on Iranian ships on Tuesday. The U.S. Central Command said claims that American warships had been struck were false.
Here’s a look at the latest news in the Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.
A state media outlet claims Iranian forces struck several ships
According to Iranian state media, the country's forces had struck eight oil tankers and two U.S. vessels in retaliation for U.S. strikes on five Iranian tankers on Tuesday, and that it had also targeted another 10 ships attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
In a social media post, the U.S. Central Command said the claim that Iran's Revolutionary Guard had struck two Navy warships was false and that all "attempted attacks failed.”
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center, which reports maritime incidents, said it had received a report of a tanker struck by an “unknown projectile” in the northern Persian Gulf off the coast of Iraq and that the crew was reported safe.
Separately, the UKMTO reported strikes “involving several merchant vessels” in the northern Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Reports indicated the ships “were subject to disabling fire" from military forces, but the UKMTO could not confirm whether there were casualties.
The U.S. Central Command said in a social media post on Tuesday that it destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers after Tehran fired missiles at a U.S. warship twice over two days.
The ongoing conflict pushed the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil past $100 on Wednesday.
The Houthi rebels say Saudi-backed forces strike Yemen’s provinces
Houthi spokesman Nasruddin Amer said on X on Wednesday that Saudi-backed forces had launched 32 airstrikes overnight across Yemen’s provinces of Taiz, Hodeida, Jawf and Marib. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
Saudi authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The strikes come a day after Houthi attacks on several oil facilities and utilities in Saudi Arabia wounded 73 people, in a major escalation in the renewed conflict between an important U.S. ally and the Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen. They follow weeks of intensifying clashes between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen, which shattered a four-year truce in the country’s civil war.
Four bodies were recovered Wednesday from a Houthi-run prison hit by an airstrike earlier this week in northern Yemen, the Houthis said, raising the death toll from that strike to 23 people.
The United Nations and Turkey condemn Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia
U.N. Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said the missile and drone attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Saudi Arabia “threaten to widen the conflict, put civilians at grave risk and undermine efforts toward a political solution.”
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry, in a statement issued late Tuesday, called on the Iran-backed group “to put an end to their aggressive actions immediately.”
Last month, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a defense agreement that would treat an attack on one as an attack on all three, solidifying cooperation between them at a time of growing regional security concerns.
Israel to shut British Consulate in Jerusalem
Israel plans to shutter the British Consulate in Jerusalem within a month, an Israeli official told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information from closed-door meetings.
The 30-day clock started Tuesday when Israel announced a series of measures — from closing the consulate to banning certain British officials from the country — in response to the U.K.’s decision to ban trade with settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The British Consulate did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
-By Julia Frankel
Protesters rally in South Korea over potential Hormuz deployment
Dozens of protesters rallied in South Korea ’s capital on Wednesday calling on the government to reject any demands to deploy military assets to the Strait of Hormuz as Seoul faces pressure from the United States to help secure the crucial waterway.
The government of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has said it sent a team of military investigators to the Middle East to assess the security situation amid the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, but stressed that it has not decided whether to send military assistance.
Trump has openly demanded that South Korea help secure safe passage for commercial ships through the strait. Iran has warned of “serious consequences” if South Korea gets involved.
