Two oil tankers carrying Saudi crude to Asia reversed course in the Red Sea on ​Tuesday after threats from Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, as a widening Middle East conflict disrupted shipping through two of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints. The diversions came as U.S. forces bombed targets in the ‌south and west of Iran overnight, Tehran targeted U.S. sites in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan and at least one tanker was hit in the Strait of Hormuz in the latest escalation of violence that has all but wrecked an interim peace deal signed last month. The Houthis announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia on Monday, opening a potential new front in the war and raising the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Gulf. The two tankers, which loaded Saudi crude bound for China and India this week, made U-turns and were headed toward the Suez, shipping ​data on LSEG showed. However, sources said Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu was operating normally.

Full report : Saudi crude tankers turn back as Houthis open new front in US-Iran war.