Houthis attack Saudi oil tanker off Yanbu amid Red Sea blockade

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis said they attacked a Saudi oil tanker off Yanbu, in the Red Sea, as the rebels pressed on with their declared maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia. The group "successfully targeted the Saudi oil tanker 'Wafa' in the northern Red Sea, off the coast of Yanbu, with a number of ballistic missiles," their military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a video statement, adding this was the eighth ship they targeted since the start of the blockade on July 22. The attack dented investor hopes of a de-escalation in the Middle East conflict after Qatar said on Tuesday that mediators were making progress with efforts to end the war.