US condemns Houthi attack on Saudi oil tanker

The White House condemned the Houthi rebels in Yemen on Wednesday for targeting a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea 24 hours earlier. The Houthis, claimed the US, have become a serious threat to international trade.

The move by the Houthis, said White House officials, was an escalation of the war. They insisted that Iran is trying to prolong the conflict in Yemen by arming the Houthi militias.

The tanker was flying the Saudi flag and sailing in international waters when it was attacked to the west of the port of Hodeidah. It was carrying around 2 million barrels of oil at the time.

A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition forces, Colonel Turki Al-Maliki confirmed that the vessel suffered minor damage. After a coalition warship intervened, he explained, the tanker was able to continue on its course towards Saudi Arabian territorial waters.

Al-Maliki stressed the importance of putting Hodeidah under international supervision to prevent it from being used as a base to launch attacks against vessels in international shipping lanes.

Read: Coalition accuses Houthis of attacking Saudi oil tanker