Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy on Thursday claimed that seven vessels, including oil tankers, were either hit by Iranian forces or struck mines in the Persian Gulf over the past day, as tensions in the region flared up again this week.  

The IRGC Navy said that its forces had tracked and hit four tankers carrying out oil transfers in the northern Persian Gulf, while three other vessels hit mines west of the Strait of Hormuz.  

The IRGC Navy also warned the United States that continued provocations could lead to a wider response against regional U.S. bases.

The Iranian warning comes as the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen expand their strikes on targets in Saudi Arabia with hits on infrastructure, including a strike near the Shaybah oilfield.

On Wednesday, two people were killed and two others injured by debris from intercepted drones near a processing plant at the Shaybah field, one of the biggest oilfields in Saudi Arabia.

Operations at the Shaybah field and its processing facilities remain unaffected, but the attack rattled markets again amid concerns about potential disruption to Saudi supply just as the Kingdom has largely restored its exports via the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.

Oil prices rose by over 2% in Asian trading on Thursday, with Brent Crude futures topping $111 per barrel, after the Houthi attacks on Saudi targets.

The escalation of the attacks from the Houthis on Saudi Arabia has prompted the United States to order non-essential government personnel and diplomats and their families to leave the Kingdom.

The Houthis have escalated attacks against Saudi Arabian infrastructure, and it may only be a matter of time until a major oil site is struck. The Houthis say they are responding to the offensive of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, which is seeking to reclaim territory in the southwest on the Red Sea and the critical Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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