A minister with Yemen’s internationally recognized government said on Wednesday that the country’s Houthi rebels were working under Iranian guidance to establish a system to impose fees for ships transiting the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani described “the move as a dangerous escalation aimed at transforming one of the world’s most strategic maritime corridors into a permanent source of funding for the militia’s military and terrorist activities”.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned US-Saudi strikes in Iraq, saying such attacks were part of US-Israeli attempts to expand the war in the region.
“These attacks… are in line with the aspirations of the United States and the Zionist regime to expand the scope of war and conflict in the West Asian region,” the ministry said in a statement, calling them a “gross violation” of the UN Charter and international law.
Oil prices jumped five percent Wednesday, rebounding in volatile trading after fresh strikes in the Middle East reignited fears of crude supply disruptions.
International benchmark Brent North Sea crude gained 5.3 percent to $88.57 a barrel, while the main US oil contract WTI advanced five percent to $83.25 a barrel. (AFP)
