Middle East tensions spike as tanker hit in Hormuz and Houthis kill 58 Yemeni troops
A cascade of attacks across the Gulf and Red Sea raises the risk of a broader confrontation involving Iran, its proxies and Western allies.
An oil tanker reported two explosions in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday while Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched one of the deadliest barrages of Yemen's civil war in years, killing at least 58 government troops. The simultaneous incidents, coupled with a Saudi warning of imminent coordinated strikes from the north and south, pushed the region closer to a multi-front conflict.
The tanker incident, reported at 14:18 local time, remains short on detail but follows an Iranian parliamentary committee's review of a draft bill that would bar US and Israeli vessels from transiting the strait, the choke-point for roughly a fifth of global oil supply. Tehran has signalled it is in the "final stage" of an agreement with Oman over the waterway, while Donald Trump told reporters he believes the war with Iran will end "pretty soon".
Deadliest Houthi assault in years
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said ballistic missiles and drones struck several government military camps in response to an alleged Saudi-backed buildup. A military source put the death toll at 58, with dozens wounded, surpassing an earlier count of 38. It marks the heaviest single-day loss for pro-government forces since a 2022 truce. Yemen's internationally recognised government vowed to retaliate "at the appropriate place and time".
Saudi braces for two-front attack
A senior Saudi official, speaking anonymously, said intelligence from the kingdom, Washington and regional partners indicated Iraqi militias were coordinating with the Houthis under the guidance of Iran's Revolutionary Guards to strike civilian and economic infrastructure, energy facilities, ports and airports, from both the northern and southern approaches. The Saudi-led coalition separately reported 11 civilians wounded, including a woman and a four-year-old child, in a Houthi attack on the border region of Najran.
Jeddah summit adds diplomatic track
Against that backdrop, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman will host Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Jeddah on Friday. Pakistan has been mediating to end the US-Iran confrontation that has paralysed maritime traffic through Hormuz. No agenda was released, but the meeting underscores the Gulf's effort to shape a collective response.
Other fronts simmer
In Syria, an explosion in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana killed at least one person and wounded seven. In the West Bank, Israeli settlers burned homes and destroyed solar panels in the Palestinian community of Khirbet al-Tuba, drawing a rare condemnation from the Israeli military. Meanwhile, talks in Rome between Lebanon and Israel over the withdrawal from southern Lebanon stalled, with Israel demanding full Lebanese army control of two pilot zones first.
The EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas welcomed a US-announced Gaza agreement that would see Hamas disarm and Israeli forces withdraw in phases, though Gazans said the plan bore little relation to conditions on the ground.
With a stricken tanker also leaking off Oman's Dhofar coast, the environmental and economic stakes are rising in step with the military ones. The Jeddah summit may offer the clearest signal yet of whether the region's powers can contain the escalation or are preparing for a wider war.
