YEMEN Aug 5, 2026 – Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels said on Wednesday they carried out ballistic missile attacks on two Saudi oil tankers, intensifying their maritime campaign against the kingdom.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree announced that Yemeni forces targeted the Saudi-flagged tanker Wafa (also referred to as Wafaa or NCC Wafa) with several ballistic missiles in the northern Red Sea off the coast of Yanbu, one of Saudi Arabia’s key oil export hubs. Saree described the strike as a “precise hit.”
Hours later, the group claimed a second attack, saying it hit the Saudi oil tanker Daisy with a ballistic missile in the Gulf of Aden, damaging the vessel and forcing it to turn back.
Saree framed the operations as part of the Houthis’ “blockade-for-blockade” or “siege-for-siege” policy, launched on July 20 in response to what the group calls a Saudi blockade on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. He said the attacks brought the total number of targeted Saudi oil tankers to eight or nine since the campaign began and vowed to escalate operations in the northern Red Sea to close all access routes after Saudi vessels began rerouting north to avoid the southern blockade near Bab el-Mandeb.
Saudi authorities did not immediately respond to the claims, which have not been independently verified. Britain’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported that a tanker in the Gulf of Aden heard a loud explosion nearby, with all crew members safe.
The announcements contributed to a rebound in oil prices earlier on Wednesday. Brent crude futures rose as much as 1.9% to around $80.87 a barrel at one point, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate also gained, as the reports dented hopes of broader de-escalation in regional tensions.
Maritime data indicate the Houthi campaign has already disrupted Saudi crude flows through the Red Sea, with shipments from Yanbu via the Bab el-Mandeb Strait roughly halved compared with levels before the blockade. The group has warned it will continue targeting Saudi-linked shipping “regardless of consequences” until its demands are met.
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