Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said in a statement that it would respond to them with force
A satellite imagery shows Bab el Mandeb Strait, a key shipping waterway and the gateway to the Red Sea, as Yemen’s Houthi could shut the Bab el-Mandeb gateway to the Red Sea, in this handout picture dated July 12, 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS
Yemen’s Houthis said on Monday they would impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, opening a potential new front against the United States in its war against Iran and raising the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Gulf.
The escalation comes after the Pentagon on Monday identified two US soldiers who were killed when Iran attacked an American base in Jordan on Friday, while they also said they had found unidentified remains that could be those of a third soldier reported as missing in action. Separately, a fourth service member was killed in northern Iraq during the “controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian one-way attack drone.”
After the Houthis announced their blockade, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said in a statement that it would respond to them with force, and also that it began implementing protection measures for its ships moving through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key export route for Saudi oil after the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Read: US informs Israel of plans to intensify attacks on Iran
The Houthis made their announcement despite signs that Tehran and Washington want to resume diplomacy to halt a worsening cycle of attacks that has all but wrecked a fragile interim agreement signed last month. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said mediators had presented “proposals” to Tehran, signalling that diplomatic contacts remain active, but gave no details.
Oil prices rose briefly after the Houthi statement but later fell back as traders held out hope of a diplomatic breakthrough. The insurance cost of shipping goods through the Red Sea rose on the increased risks for merchant shipping.
Iran had been pressing the Houthis to close the Bab el-Mandeb gateway to the Red Sea if the US continued to attack Iranian power infrastructure.
A full closure of the strait would reduce global oil supply by 7% as it would leave most of Saudi oil exports unable to leave the region. The disruption would add to the huge cut to oil flows from the war in the Gulf, which has already reduced shipments by 10% of global supply.
In their statement, the Houthis’ armed forces said they were declaring “a maritime embargo against the criminal Saudi enemy, based on the equation of ‘an eye for an eye’, effective immediately” in response to what they called “an unjust and oppressive siege” imposed on Yemen by the Saudis.
IRGC claims strike on Amazon data infrastructure in Bahrain
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted an American commercial target in Bahrain, using cruise missiles, according to Al Jazeera.
In a statement carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, the IRGC claimed its Aerospace Force destroyed the central data infrastructure of Amazon using several cruise missiles.
The group added that the strike was conducted in response to recent US attacks on civilian infrastructure in Darkhovin.
ASEAN calls for maximum restraint, immediate halt to US-Iran hostilities
ASEAN foreign ministers expressed “serious concern over the rapidly evolving situation in the Middle East”, specifically highlighting “renewed hostilities” involving the US and Iran, according to Al Jazeera.
In a statement, the regional bloc warned that rising tensions “diminish the prospects for a peaceful resolution through dialogue and diplomacy” and “severely undermine the ongoing efforts of key mediators”.
The ministers also called on all involved parties to “exercise utmost self-restraint and avoid any acts that may further aggravate the situation”. They urged a “complete and immediate cessation of hostilities across all fronts” and demanded the “restoration of the safe, unimpeded, and continuous transit passage of vessels” in key trade routes like the Strait of Hormuz.
They also highlighted the broader economic consequences of the conflict, pointing to the “implications of the continued tensions in the Middle East on regional trade, energy, and food security”.
Diplomatic push to restore ceasefire
A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday that Tehran had received a proposal from mediators for a 10-day ceasefire in efforts to salvage the interim deal, intended to pave the way to a lasting agreement to end the war that began on February 28 with US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
Neither the ministry nor the official who spoke to Reuters gave any details on the putative ceasefire discussions.
Two Pakistani government sources said separately that Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni had asked Pakistan to resume its mediation role in the conflict. He later arrived in Islamabad for further talks.
The diplomatic push followed another night of US strikes on Iranian cities and attacks by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on US military assets across the region. US Central Command said Monday afternoon US time that it had begun another round of strikes on Iran.
Today at 4 p.m. ET, U.S. forces began a new round of strikes against Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction. The strikes are designed to further degrade Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 20, 2026
President Donald Trump, under mounting political pressure at home over rising gasoline prices since the war began and Iran effectively closed the vital Strait of Hormuz, defended the latest strikes on Iran as honouring the deaths of American service members killed in recent Iranian attacks.
Read more: Two US service members killed, one missing after Iranian strikes in Jordan
“Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over! This directive has been passed on to Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Daniel Caine, and every Leader in the Military,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday.
The war has killed thousands of civilians, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, part of which has been occupied by Israeli forces following attacks on Israel by Hezbollah fighters who said they were acting in solidarity with Tehran.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is due to meet Trump at the White House on Tuesday to present a plan on how to disarm Hezbollah and secure an Israeli withdrawal.
Israel also still has forces in Gaza following two years of war ignited by the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ attack on southern Israeli communities on October 7, 2023. Hamas said on Monday it had named top negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya as its overall leader, a move that an analyst said could signal a tougher stance by the group towards calls for it to disarm.
Iran says tankers exploded
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said two oil tankers had exploded after attempting to transit the strait via an “unsafe” route. On Sunday, the IRGC had said two ships were involved in an “accident” in the same area. It was unclear whether the two incidents were related.
The IRGC statement gave no details about the vessels or any casualties.
Separately, a vessel was struck by an unknown projectile off Oman’s coast, overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said.
In Iran, explosions were reported in Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Mahshahr and Bandar Imam Khomeini. One person was killed and several wounded southwest of Tabriz, according to state news agency IRNA.
The IRGC said it targeted US aircraft at Jordan’s Aqaba airport with ballistic missiles, as well as military assets at Kuwait’s Al-Adiri camp and Ali Al Salem Air Base, and positions in Syria.
Sirens sounded in Bahrain throughout Monday. Kuwait’s army said early Tuesday that air defences were again intercepting Iranian drones.
