YEMEN’S Iran-backed Houthi government has attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, as the US military conducted a 12th night of strikes against Iran. The Houthis’ Saba news agency said today that their forces had struck two tankers, the Encelia and the Layla, in the Red Sea the day before, sparking fires on both. Bab el-Mandeb, at the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula, is a vital shipping choke point connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. A senior Houthi official said the blockade of Saudi-linked shipping would remain in effect until a Saudi blockade against the Houthis was lifted. Overnight, military officials in Kuwait said on social media that their air defences were “confronting attacks by hostile drones.”