Sana’a, Yemen. Four more tankers changed course in the Red Sea on Wednesday after Iran-aligned Houthis threatened the southern route out, adding to risks to global oil supplies amid the intensifying war between the United States and Iran.
The threat followed the diversion of three tankers on Tuesday and came as Iran maintained a near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Diplomatic response
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran was not serious about peace talks. Pakistan, which has been mediating, condemned the disruption to a second critical energy route.
Rubio and Pakistan both said they continued to support negotiations.
Oil routes and prices
The Houthis threatened on Tuesday to target Saudi oil shipments travelling south towards the Bab el-Mandeb Strait past coastal areas under their control.
Millions of barrels of Saudi oil per day have been sent to Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu to avoid the Strait of Hormuz. If vessels cannot pass through the southern Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the only northern route is through the Suez Canal, adding weeks to the journey.
Oil prices rose to a near six-week high on Wednesday. Brent crude futures were up 2.45% at $93.24 a barrel at 1323 GMT after reaching $95.47 earlier in the session.
U.S. gasoline prices climbed above $4 a gallon, a development that has weighed on President Donald Trump’s poll ratings ahead of midterm elections in November.
Military escalation
Trump said on social media that the United States would destroy a bridge or power plant in Iran whenever Iran fired at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. strikes have expanded from southern Iran to western and central parts of the country in recent days.
An Iranian health ministry official said 53 civilians had been killed and 592 wounded this month. The United States says it does not target civilians.
Iranian Army Commander-in-Chief Major General Amir Hatami said Iran had strengthened its military in anticipation that its adversaries would break agreements. Iranian media cited parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Committee spokesperson Hasan Qashqavi as saying Trump was in a “quagmire”.
Regional infrastructure
Iran has struck water desalination and energy plants in Kuwait and said it had targeted U.S. military assets in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan. Rubio said the United States would protect its interests.
