New attacks on shipping as Iran war talks hit fresh impasse

The U.S. and Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis reported separate attacks on shipping on Tuesday as prospects for ending the Iran war appeared to dim, with Tehran saying the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed unless Washington accepts its conditions. The attacks occurred in the Gulf of Oman leading to the strait and at the entrance to the Red Sea.

Four crew members were killed in a suspected Houthi attack on a small cargo vessel in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Tuesday, according to Yemen's Transport Ministry. Two Yemeni rescuers from an anti-Houthi military group were also killed, as stated by Yemen's Coast Guard. These fatalities aboard the Egyptian-owned Tihamah, if confirmed, would be the first deaths on shipping by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis since the Iran war began. The Houthi-run news agency Saba reported that the group attacked a Saudi ship they said was carrying military equipment in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The U.S. military stated a U.S. Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles to disable the steering gear of a Panama-flagged cargo ship, which ignored repeated warnings to stop violating a naval blockade on Iranian ports. Brent crude futures climbed 1.4% to settle at $88.91 per barrel and U.S. crude rose 1.3% to $83.20.