Skip to content
US vows to punish Iran after Houthis strike tankers
Tehran (AFP) -- Iran and the United States threatened on Thursday to step up attacks on one another, after Tehran's Houthi allies struck Saudi shipping and sent oil prices soaring. The international oil benchmark Brent crude surged past $100 a barrel for the first time since May, up seven percent, while world leaders expressed alarm after Yemen's rebels hit oil tankers in the Red Sea. 'The situation is getting out of control. It is teetering on the edge of the unimaginable,' United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned 'the energy shock could intensify further' and push up inflation. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Houthis had been 'suckered' into attacking Red Sea shipping by Iran. Late Thursday, Trump said on social media that the US would begin using frozen Iranian assets to pay for damages done to ships in the region.