Yemen's Houthi movement said it struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea on July 23, opening a second front against global crude flows and lifting Brent crude to a one-month high.

The group, which controls Yemen's Red Sea coast, said missile and drone strikes targeted vessels it named as the Encelia and the Layla, the first attacks since it declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia on July 20. Riyadh has been rerouting millions of barrels per day by pipeline to Red Sea terminals to bypass Iran's blockade at the mouth of the Gulf.

A maritime security source told Reuters the Encelia issued a distress call late on July 22 reporting a missile strike while operating at the outer port limits of Jizan. British maritime risk group Vanguard said the vessel was hit on its starboard side about 70 nautical miles, or 130km, southwest of Al Shuqaiq. Saudi state news agency SPA said the impact ignited a fire at the bow and that all crew were safe.

The claimed strike on the Layla, a 2007-built very large crude carrier owned by Bahri, remains unverified. The vessel last broadcast an AIS position on July 17, west of where the Encelia was struck, and SPA gave no details on it.

Brent crude futures jumped 4.80% to $98.59 a barrel by 09:35 GMT, the highest level since last month's short-lived truce collapsed. Several tankers have diverted north through the Suez Canal rather than transit the Bab el-Mandeb, with some cargoes facing the far longer route around the Cape of Good Hope to reach Asian buyers. Shipping data showed two Chinese VLCCs carrying a combined 4mn barrels still attempting to exit via the strait.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, addressing a diplomatic meeting in Southeast Asia, said the price Tehran pays "will get higher every night" until it accepts terms it would honour. "Iran is begging every day. The problem with Iran is every time they make a deal they either break it or they want to change it. So now they're paying the price for it," he said. Rubio said the Houthis had been snookered into the escalation by Iran and voiced hope for de-escalation.

Iran said it had struck US missile systems, weapons depots and fuel storage in Jordan, along with American positions in Kuwait, where it has also hit desalination and power plants this week. Jordan's army said it engaged four Iranian missiles and six drones over 24 hours, intercepting all but one, which fell in open ground.

Iranian military spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia said retaliation would continue as long as US strikes on Iranian infrastructure persisted, state television reported. Four people familiar with US intelligence said earlier Iranian strikes on CIA targets had prompted an inquiry into whether Russia was providing targeting data or drone technology to Tehran.

US President Donald Trump vowed on July 22 to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant for every ship fired on in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's joint military command countered that it would target regional oil, gas, electricity and economic infrastructure to block the export of even a single drop of oil, according to Iranian state media. Hours later, the Revolutionary Guards reported an explosion on what they described as a mined route at the southern end of the strait, saying one of three tankers caught fire while the other two turned back.

The blockade was imposed after the internationally recognised Yemeni government bombed the Houthi-controlled Sanaa airport to prevent an Iranian aircraft landing.