Trump vows to punish Iran for Houthi attacks in Red Sea; oil surges over $100
By Elwely Elwelly, Ahmed Elimam and Eman Abouhassira
DUBAI, July 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump promised on Thursday "major military punishment" for Iran and its Houthi allies, after the Yemeni fighters struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, extending the Middle East war to a second major shipping chokepoint.
Fears that disruption could widen further to block another sea route sent global oil prices surging in one of the steepest rises of the war. Brent crude rose more than 6%, breaking through $100 a barrel for the first time since May.
Two weeks since the effective collapse of an interim truce meant to end the war, the U.S. military launched another round of air strikes on Iran overnight into Thursday, prompting Iran to fire at neighbouring Arab countries that house U.S. bases.
Iranian state media said a missile struck Qeshm Island on the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday evening, raising the prospect of a further night of attacks in a conflict well into its fifth month that has already killed thousands and raised fears of a global economic downturn.
TRUMP: IRAN HASN'T 'RECEIVED ENOUGH PAIN YET'
After the Houthis said they had struck the two tankers, Trump said he would hold Iran accountable for any further attacks by the fighters.
The Houthis, who control northern and western Yemen, said this week they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, which has diverted millions of barrels of oil per day by pipeline to the Red Sea to get around Iran's blockade of Gulf oil through the Strait of Hormuz.
"If they do this again, the U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He told news outlet Axios he was considering relaunching major combat operations in Iran and was close to a decision. "They haven't received enough pain yet," Axios quoted Trump as saying.
Sources in Iran and Yemen told Reuters Tehran had flown Revolutionary Guard commanders, military advisers and missile- and drone-related equipment into Yemen days before the Houthis announced their blockade. The Houthis dismissed the report.
The Houthis said their forces had carried out missile and drone strikes on Saudi oil tankers, the Encelia and the Layla.
A maritime security source said the Encelia had transmitted a distress call reporting it had been struck by a missile near the Saudi port of Jizan in the Red Sea just north of Yemen late on Wednesday.Saudi state news agency SPA said the strike hadcauseda fire at the bow.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the attack on the Layla, or other battlefield accounts, but Trump mentioned two attacks on Saudi tankers.
The insurance cost of shipping goods through the southern Red Sea doubled for some companies on Thursday, after the reported attacks, sources said.
Houthi attacks could close the strait known as the Bab el-Mandeb or "Gate of Tears" which controls access from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, the second most important route for energy shipments after the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf.
In the days since they announced their blockade in the Red Sea, several tankers have changed course to avoid the Bab el-Mandeb, heading north instead through the Suez Canal, potentially using a much longer and more expensive route to reach Asian customers by sailing around Africa.
IRAN REPORTS STRIKES ON JORDAN, KUWAIT
Iran said it attacked U.S. missile systems, weapons and fuel storage sites in Jordan, as well as U.S. military posts in Kuwait.
Jordan's army said it engaged four Iranian missiles and six drones in the past 24 hours, intercepting all but one missile, which fell in an uninhabited area.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they struck a U.S. electronic warfare unit at Kuwait’s Al-Adiri base, causing unspecified casualties, in response to an overnight strike on Iran's Shalamcheh border crossing with Iraq.
Neither the U.S. nor Kuwait has reported casualties at the base.
Iranian military spokesperson Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia said Iran would keep retaliating as long as the U.S. continued to attack its infrastructure and coastal areas, Iranian state TV reported.
Since the United States and Israel began the war in February, Iran has demonstrated that it can hit U.S. targets in the region, despite Trump having said early on that the U.S. had wiped out Iranian military capabilities.
Four people familiar with U.S. intelligence said Iranian strikes on CIA targets in the Gulf earlier in the war had prompted U.S. intelligence to investigate whether Russia was assisting Iran with targeting information or drone technology.
CONGRESS
High oil prices are stoking inflation globally, and have put Trump's Republican allies under pressure ahead of congressional elections in November.
The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives backed legislation on Thursday directing Trump to halt U.S. military action against Iran, the latest symbolic rebuke of the Republican president from Congress.
Lawmakers have passed similar resolutions repeatedly in recent months, but they have not led to cessation of the war. The Senate voted hours later to block a separate, similar measure.
(Additional reporting by Yomna Ehab, Enas Alashray and Ahmed Tolba; Doina Chiacu in Washington; and Michael Martina in Manila; Writing by Stephen Coates, Andrei Khalip, Andrew Heavens; Editing by Peter Graff and Sanjeev Miglani)
