🔸Houthi rebels of Yemen said on Tuesday that they targeted a Saudi oil tanker with ballistic missiles in the Red Sea due to what they described as “violating the blockade of Saudi ports.”

🔸A Houthi military spokesman named the oil tanker “NCCI Ghazal” and said that after ignoring warnings, the ship was forced to change course.

🔸At the same time, the UK Maritime Trade Operations organization also said that the captain of an oil tanker reported hearing an explosion while passing through the southern Red Sea. According to this report, the ship and its crew are safe and no environmental damage has been reported.

🔸Saudi Arabia has not yet commented on this claim.

🔸Iran-supported Houthi rebels said last week that they had begun a “naval blockade” of Saudi Arabia, and since then they have taken responsibility for several attacks on the oil tankers and the oil installations of this country.

🔸Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense said that its air defense systems intercepted and destroyed several drones that targeted oil facilities in eastern Saudi Arabia. Riyadh has blamed Iran-supported militia groups in Iraq for these attacks.