US vows to punish Iran after Houthis strike tankers

The United States struck Iranian military targets early Friday, the thirteenth consecutive night of combat, hours after Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen attacked oil tankers in the Red Sea.

President Donald Trump said Washington would use frozen Iranian assets to pay for any damage to shipping and warned Iran and the Houthis would face "major military punishment."

Why is the US punishing Iran and the Houthis?

Trump said the United States would hold Iran responsible for the Houthis' actions in the Red Sea, warning both would soon face serious retaliation. US Central Command said its strikes aimed to hold Iran accountable and reduce threats from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to commercial shipping. The statement did not directly reference the new Houthi blockade of Saudi ports.

Where did the US strikes hit inside Iran?

Iranian state media reported that US missiles struck the southwestern city of Ahvaz, with explosions also heard in nearby Omidiyeh. Blasts were reported in the port city of Bandar Abbas and on Qeshm island, both along the Strait of Hormuz. The strait remains a flashpoint as Iran and the United States compete for control of the route that once carried about one-fifth of the world's oil.

How did oil markets and world leaders react?

Brent crude surged seven percent past $100 a barrel for the first time since May as the threat to energy trade grew. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the situation was "teetering on the edge of the unimaginable," telling the Security Council that "one crisis feeds another." European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said the energy shock could intensify and fuel inflation, feeding speculation about a September eurozone rate hike, while German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius warned of "dire consequences" for oil-importing economies and said nothing pointed toward a ceasefire.

Why did the war between Iran and the US resume?

Fighting resumed this month after a ceasefire that lasted only a few weeks, plunging the region back into chaos. Iran's army spokesperson, Mohammad Akraminia, said retaliatory attacks would continue as long as US strikes on Iranian infrastructure and coastal areas continue, according to state television. Jordan and Kuwait both reported intercepting strikes, with Iran's military and Revolutionary Guards claiming to target US assets in both countries.

Late Thursday, Trump said on social media that the United States would begin using frozen Iranian assets already in its possession to pay for "any and all damages done to Ships, Cargo or anything related" in the region.

How are the Houthis and Red Sea tanker attacks connected to the war?

The Houthis said they carried out missile and drone strikes on two Saudi tankers, the Encelia and the Layla, after declaring a blockade of Saudi ports. British naval security monitor UKMTO said one tanker's master reported being hit by an unknown projectile about 70 nautical miles southwest of Al Shuqaiq, sparking a fire. Saudi Arabia confirmed the Encelia had been struck but did not comment on the second vessel, and the new threat could compound the impact of any Hormuz closure on Riyadh's ability to export oil by other routes.

Speaking on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian summit in Manila, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Houthis had been "suckered" into attacking Red Sea shipping by Iran. He said the group had largely stayed out of the broader conflict until now but had been drawn into targeting Saudi Arabia and its ships. Oman, a longstanding mediator between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, said it was working to resume talks between the two sides and voiced "great concern" over the Red Sea escalation.

What is the political reaction inside the US?

The renewed war is proving increasingly unpopular at home as midterm elections approach in November. The US House of Representatives passed a symbolic vote, backed by opposition Democrats and a handful of Republicans, calling on Trump to halt the war. Kuwait separately reported a drone attack on one of its border posts with Iraq that caused no casualties, and said its air defenses intercepted further hostile missile and drone attacks it attributed to Iranian aggression.