Iran and the United States traded new threats on Thursday after Tehran's Houthi allies struck Saudi shipping in the Red Sea, sending oil prices soaring and prompting UN warnings that the conflict is "teetering on the edge of the unimaginable."
President Donald Trump said the US would hold Iran responsible for the Houthis' actions and warned both would soon receive a "major military punishment." The international oil benchmark Brent crude surged past US$100 a barrel for the first time since May, up seven percent.
Yemen's Houthis declared a blockade of Saudi ports this week and claimed attacks on tankers. The new threat in the Red Sea could compound the shock of the Hormuz closure, endangering Riyadh's ability to bypass the strait for some oil exports.
Iran's army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia said: "The armed forces' retaliatory attacks will continue as long as the US attacks on the country's infrastructure and coastal areas continue."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Houthis had been "suckered" into attacking Red Sea shipping by Iran. "The Houthis largely were smart and stayed out of all this throughout the conflict, but they now apparently have gotten themselves suckered into this, going after Saudi Arabia and their ships," he said.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards separately claimed on Thursday that they had attacked and destroyed several American military assets in Jordan, including a radar for the US THAAD missile defence system, a Patriot system, a C-RAM radar and a helicopter hangar.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the Security Council: "The situation is getting out of control. It is teetering on the edge of the unimaginable. One crisis feeds another. One escalation triggers the next."
