Oil prices continued to rise Thursday as fighting between the United States and Iran and its allies intensified, adding to fears about shipping energy out of the Middle East.
The Houthis, an Iranian-backed militia in Yemen, claimed to have attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea after threatening a blockade in the region. And Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said one of three oil tankers attempting to pass through a “mined route” south of the Strait of Hormuz caught fire after an explosion, forcing the other two ships to turn back, according to a statement carried by Iran’s official state news agency.
The United States said it had completed its 12th night of consecutive strikes aimed at “degrading Iran’s ability to threaten civilian sailors and commercial vessels.”
Jenny Gross, Shirin Hakim and Pranav Baskar contributed with reports.
