Houthi attack on small cargo ship in Red Sea kills 6, Yemeni authorities say

Latest attacks could reignite Yemen's civil war, open new front in Middle East war

Yemeni authorities say six people were killed Tuesday by Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacking a vessel in the Bab el-Mandeb strait.

Yemen's coast guard said the dead included four crew members and two members of the government-allied National Resistance Forces. Houthis fired three ballistic missiles at the Yemeni commercial vessel, according to the Transportation Ministry of Yemen's internationally recognized government.

In a statement, the ministry said that the Houthis fired three ballistic missiles on the Yemeni commercial vessel.

They are the first known deaths from Houthi attacks on shipping off Yemen in the latest bout of fighting in the Arab country.

With the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut down by Iran, there has been a renewed focus on the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait at Yemen's southern tip, which is an alternate route for Saudi Arabia to ship its oil.

Houthis attacked the government-held port city of Mokha on the Red Sea and other areas of the country.

Yemen's military said the rebels targeted Mokha and the central province of Marib with missiles and drones but did not provide further details.

The Houthis struck Marib and the eastern province of Hadramout last week, killing dozens of government troops and civilians. They hit Mokha with missiles and drones over the weekend and killed at least seven people, including three troops, according to the Yemeni military.

Mokha is a main port under Yemen's internationally recognized government and has been renovated to handle shipping to avoid the Houthi-held port of Hodeida.

The strikes were part of an escalation by the Houthis against government forces in Yemen and oil facilities in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, which supports the internationally recognized Yemeni government, and the kingdom's shipping in the Red Sea.

The Houthi attacks could reignite Yemen's civil war following a 2022 truce and open a new front in the Middle East war.

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Yemen's Houthis claim attack on Aramco oil facility in Saudi Arabia

Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the Houthis' chief negotiator and spokesperson, accused Saudi Arabia in a social media post of exploiting the ceasefire to tighten an air and sea blockade it imposed in 2015.

He said the Houthis are open for negotiations but any settlement must include lifting the blockade. Riyadh denies that it had besieged Yemen.

Earlier, the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had been informed that a cargo vessel off the coast of al-Mokha, Yemen, had been hit by an unknown projectile, resulting in casualties.

Attacks on ships in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait have increased uncertainty for shipping companies already hobbled by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian foreign minister underlines Tehran's demands

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters that the country had "astonished the whole world" in the war against the United States and Israel, proving "that it is a tough and invincible power."

Iran has refused to back down on demands that the U.S. end its blockade of Iranian ports, lift sanctions on the Islamic Republic and fulfill other conditions before Tehran will consider reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran effectively closed the strait after Israel and the U.S. attacked the country on Feb. 28.

Attacks on the key waterway — through which roughly one-fifth of the world's traded oil supplies passed before the war — and uncertainty around its future have kept energy prices a major focus of U.S. politics ahead of November's midterm elections.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday in an Oval Office exchange with reporters that the U.S. Navy's blockade is preventing Iran from selling its oil on the international market, effectively choking the Iranian economy.

"Yeah, they can make trouble," Trump said, "but they're broke."