Red Sea: Houthi Rebels Claim Missile Attack on Israeli Oil Tanker, Heightening Tensions
Tensions in the Red Sea have escalated once again after Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for firing a missile at an oil tanker. According to the group, the vessel was linked to Israel and was deliberately targeted as retaliation for the killing of senior Houthi leaders in recent Israeli airstrikes.
On Monday, Houthi officials announced that their forces had launched a missile at the tanker while it was sailing off the coast of Saudi Arabia, near the strategic Red Sea route. This development is being viewed as a possible resumption of their maritime attacks, which had previously disrupted one of the world’s most important shipping lanes.
Brigadier General Yahya Sari, a spokesman for the Houthi military, confirmed the strike in a recorded statement aired on the Houthi-run Al-Masirah television channel. He specifically claimed that the targeted vessel, identified as the Scarlet Ray, was connected to Israeli interests. However, attempts to reach the ship’s owners for verification were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) reported that vessels in the area heard the sound of an object falling into the water followed by an explosion near Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. The UKMTO, which tracks ship movements across the Middle East, has not confirmed whether the tanker sustained any direct damage.
This latest incident is part of a broader pattern of maritime aggression by the Iran-backed Houthis. Between November 2023 and December 2024, the group carried out more than 100 attacks on commercial vessels in connection with the Israel-Hamas conflict. Using missiles and drones, they managed to sink at least four ships and caused the deaths of eight sailors during that period.
Although the Houthis had briefly halted their operations during a temporary ceasefire, hostilities quickly resumed after U.S. forces—under the direction of then-President Donald Trump—launched airstrikes against Houthi positions. That escalation reignited a cycle of violence, including a July assault in which Houthi fighters sank two additional vessels, leaving four people dead.
The current missile strike comes at a particularly sensitive moment in Middle Eastern geopolitics. Negotiations over a possible truce in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war remain uncertain, while regional stability is further undermined by questions surrounding Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Recently, Israel and Iran engaged in a direct confrontation that lasted nearly two weeks, during which U.S. forces targeted three Iranian nuclear facilities. Israeli airstrikes in the past week also claimed the lives of the Houthi Prime Minister and several high-ranking cabinet officials.
Analysts believe the attack on the Scarlet Ray was intended as a direct response to these losses, signaling the Houthis’ determination to retaliate and demonstrate strength. With the Red Sea serving as a critical artery for global trade and oil shipments, any further escalation risks drawing international powers deeper into the conflict.
