President Trump threatened Iran and its Houthi allies in Yemen with "major military punishment" Thursday if the Houthis launch more attacks on Saudi vessels in the Red Sea. There are signs the U.S. is preparing to ramp up military operations in the Middle East, including an increase in the number of refueling aircraft deployed to Israel, American B-1 bombers leaving U.K.
bases, and dozens more medics being sent to the sprawling U.S. base in Landstuhl, Germany. The Pentagon continues insisting the Strait of Hormuz is open, but traffic through the vital waterway is at a crawl, helping push global oil prices back over $100 a barrel again Thursday for the first time in over two months.
The International Maritime Organization, the U.N. maritime agency, is now condemning the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. "I unequivocally condemn the latest reported attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea area," IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez wrote in a statement.
"These attacks are indefensible. They endanger the lives of seafarers, while threatening the security of international shipping, the marine environment and the stability of global supply chains." The IMO has also supported free passage through the Strait of Hormuz, advising ships to use the southern route touted by the U.S. until attacks resumed recently.
This week, the Iran-backed Houthi militia based in Yemen began targeting ships in the Red Sea transiting through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. At least two Saudi-flagged oil tankers were targeted in the strait on Wednesday. About 9% of all seaborne oil trade, both crude and refined, travels through the strait.
While about 20% travels through the Strait of Hormuz, the apparent closure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait would still exacerbate the current oil crisis. Oil prices crossed $100 a barrel on Thursday in response. "The Red Sea is a critical maritime corridor for international trade," Dominguez said.
"Continued attacks on shipping in this region risk escalating tensions, further disrupting commercial routes and undermining the principle of freedom of navigation." "De-escalation is the only solution," he added. https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-hormuz-oil-prices-red-sea-houthis/#post-update-306faa65 link copied Britain's government said Thursday it had withdrawn all remaining diplomatic staff from Iran as the conflict between Iran and the U.S. escalates.
"Due to the security situation, UK staff have been temporarily withdrawn from Iran. Our embassy continues to operate remotely," the foreign office said on its website . Britain withdrew its embassy staff from Iran in June, following the same move by other European nations as well as Australia and New Zealand.
Those withdrawals came as Israel launched renewed airstrikes on Iran, claiming the Islamic Republic was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. The foreign office declined to say Thursday how many staff had been withdrawn. The office "advises against all travel to Iran.
If you are a British national already in Iran, either resident or visitor, carefully consider your presence there and the risks you take by staying," the statement said. British couple Craig Foreman and his wife Lindsay were detained at the start of 2025 while traveling in Iran during a round-the-world motorcycle trip. They are serving a 10-year sentence for spying – charges they both deny.
Their family said last week that Craig Foreman had been given an extra two years for talking to the media, and Lindsay's son told CBS News he was " desperately worried " about the couple. https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-hormuz-oil-prices-red-sea-houthis/#post-update-fb653104 link copied The House on Thursday voted to direct President Trump to end the war with Iran , with four Republicans joining Democrats to rebuke the president over his handling of the conflict as fighting ramps up. Hours later, a similar effort failed to advance in the Senate, where some Republicans who have been critical of the war effort again sided with the administration to prevent a Democratic resolution from advancing.
In the House, the chamber voted 214 to 208 to adopt a resolution introduced by Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington. It would direct the president "to remove the use of United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran or any part of its government or military, including potential ground forces in a combat role or used for occupation," without express authorization from Congress.
Republican Reps. Tom Barrett of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky split from their party to vote in favor of the resolution. https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-hormuz-oil-prices-red-sea-houthis/#post-update-ff94fe36 link copied Two China-linked supertankers carrying Saudi crude oil transited the Bab el-Mandeb Strait Thursday, according to MarineTraffic, carrying a combined 4 million barrels of oil.
One of the vessels, the Singapore-flagged Xin Long Yang, "reversed course and paused in the central Red Sea on Tuesday before resuming her southbound voyage late on Wednesday," according to the naval tracking website. The tanker was followed through the Bab el-Mandeb by the Hong Kong-flagged Cosnew Lake. The two 333-metre tankers departed Yanbu Industrial Port, on Saudi Arabia's west coast, on July 20 — both were carrying oil.
Before transiting the chokepoint, both vessels updated their destinations to "CHINA CREW & OWNER," according to the website, "replacing previously listed Chinese discharge ports." Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis, whose coastline makes up the eastern flank of the strait, claimed to have struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea on Wednesday, and have threatened a naval blockade of all Saudi vessels trying to get in and out of the crucial waterway. On Tuesday, CBS News tracked at least five vessels , including several laden with Saudi crude oil, making U-turns before reaching the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, not long after the Houthis vowed to block Saudi-linked ships. https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-hormuz-oil-prices-red-sea-houthis/#post-update-8e5a288d link copied Iran flew commanders from its powerful, heavily sanctioned Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and equipment related to missiles and drones, to Yemen this month to help bolster its Houthi allies' ability to threaten global energy supplies in the Red Sea, the Reuters news agency reported Thursday.
Reuters cited four sources for the previously unreported information, which included the date of the flight the Iranian officials purportedly used to get to Yemeni territory held by the Houthis — July 13, about a week before the Houthis declared a blockade of Saudi Arabia and started menacing vessels linked to the kingdom in the Red Sea. The news agency said the information came from two Iranian sources, Yemen's information minister and a regional security analyst. Reuters cited the Iranian sources as saying that between 10 and 21 IRGC members, including top commanders, flew into Yemen on a flight operated by the private Iranian carrier Mahan Air.
"The IRGC commanders traveled there to support Houthi operations and provide training on new missile systems," one of the sources told the news agency. President Trump on Thursday said he was "very disappointed" in the Houthis for attacking two Saudi ships this week, and he warned that if they did it again, both the Yemeni rebels and their Iranian benefactors would face "major military punishment." https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-hormuz-oil-prices-red-sea-houthis/#post-update-b305bba4 link copied President Trump said Thursday that he is considering ordering an attack on Iran "bigger than ever before," according to Axios , which cited the president as saying it seemed to him the Iranian regime, "haven't received enough pain...
