09:41 local time (06:41 UTC) Brent crude passed $100 a barrel on Wednesday as fighting widened across the Gulf and Yemen. Iranian state media said Iranian forces struck several oil tankers and two US Navy ships in retaliation for US strikes that destroyed five Iranian tankers a day earlier. US Central Command denied any of its warships were hit and said all attempted attacks failed.
A Panamanian-flagged tanker was struck off Iraq’s coast in the northern Persian Gulf; Iraq’s Transport Ministry reported no casualties. The UK Maritime Trade Operations Center said several merchant vessels came under attack in the wider region.
Separately, Houthi spokesman Nasruddin Amer said Saudi-backed forces launched 32 airstrikes overnight across Yemen’s Taiz, Hodeida, Jawf and Marib provinces, a day after Houthi attacks on Saudi oil facilities and utilities reportedly wounded 73 people. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the overnight strikes. The Houthis also said four more bodies were recovered from a prison hit earlier in the week, raising that strike’s toll to 23.