DUBAI: Two oil tankers carrying Saudi crude to Asia reversed course in the Red Sea on Tuesday after threats from Yemen's Ansar Allah, as a widening Middle East conflict disrupted shipping through two of the world's most critical energy chokepoints. The diversions came as US forces bombed targets in the south and west of Iran overnight, Tehran targeted US sites in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan and at least one tanker was hit in the Strait of Hormuz in the latest escalation of violence that has all but wrecked an interim peace deal signed last month.
The Yemeni group announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia on Monday, opening a potential new front in the war and raising the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Gulf. The two tankers, which loaded Saudi crude bound for China and India this week, made U-turns and were headed towards the Suez, shipping data on LSEG showed. However, sources said Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port of Yanbu was operating normally.
Oil prices gained around 2% on the latest attacks, but signs that Tehran and Washington want to resume diplomacy helped to limit price rises. US Central Command said it had hit Iranian military command centres, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and air defence systems in its latest round of strikes. — Reuters
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