Yemen's Armed Forces Target Saudi Oil Tanker Wafaa in Red Sea

Yemeni armed forces announced that they struck the Saudi oil tanker "Wafaa" north of the Red Sea near Yanbu using a salvo of ballistic missiles, describing the hit as precise. The attack marks the eighth Saudi oil tanker targeted since the Yemeni government imposed a maritime ban on Saudi vessels on 22 July 2026, and it brings the total number of Saudi tankers forced to retreat in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea to 29.

Yemen said the operation is part of a broader effort to enforce a naval blockade and “equate the siege with a siege,” noting that Saudi ships have begun rerouting northward. The Yemeni spokesperson Yahya Sari pledged that attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea will continue and intensify, while no official comment has been issued by Saudi or international maritime authorities.