Middle East live: Houthi rebels claim attacks on Saudi tankers in the Red Sea

Iran-backed Houthi Yemeni rebels claimed attacks on Wednesday evening in the Red Sea against two Saudi oil tankers, while the United States continued its strikes against Iran. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards announced on Thursday that they had stopped three oil tankers trying to cross the Strait of Hormuz. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments.

A vessel belonging to a Saudi company was hit while transiting the Red Sea, Saudi state media reported on Thursday, citing an official source, after Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed they had struck tankers in the waterway. The source, quoted by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, said "the vessel ENCELIA, belonging to a Saudi company, was targeted while sailing in the Red Sea, resulting in a fire at the bow of the ship", but that all crew members were safe. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Thursday they stopped three oil tankers from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, as the United States and Iran vie for control over the vital waterway.

In recent weeks, Iran has hit tankers using a route hugging the Omani coast to traverse the strait, in a bid to strong-arm vessels into using its own waters and paying for safe passage. "Three oil tankers, provoked and tempted by the child-killing American army, were trying to pass through the mine-laid route south of the Strait of Hormuz, but after one of them exploded and caught fire, the other two quickly turned around and turned back, the Guards said in a statement quoted by Iranian state media. The statement did not say when the incident happened.

"The powerful IRGC Navy emphasises that the Strait of Hormuz is under our control... and any ship that is deceived by the US and intends to pass without coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran will suffer the same fate, the Guards added. Yemen's Houthis said on Thursday they had carried out a military operation targeting two Saudi oil tankers, identified as ENCELA and LAYLIA, saying the vessels violated a naval blockade imposed by the group. The Iran-aligned Houthis said on Monday they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, drawing a warning from the Saudi-led coalition that it would respond "firmly", in a move that threatens to disrupt global energy supplies beyond the Gulf.

Welcome to the France 24 liveblog covering events in the Middle East. You can catch up on yesterday's developments here. • President Donald Trump ​attended a dignified transfer of remains ceremony at a military base in Delaware for four US service members killed in the Iran war.