Oil prices fell Thursday after Saudi Arabia proposed a naval coalition to protect key trade routes as ships come under attack from Iran and its allies in the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz. The Saudi Defense Ministry said more than 40 countries attended a meeting to discuss "strengthening maritime defense cooperation and unifying efforts to protect the security of maritime passages," according to statement translated from Arabic. The effort to forge a naval alliance comes as Iran's Houthi allies in Yemen declared a maritime embargo of Saudi Arabia last week. The U.S. launched a "heavy wave" of strikes against Iran late Wednesday in retaliation for missile attacks on American forces in the region. Egypt, meanwhile, said two ships were hit by a drone attack at the Port of Damietta on the Mediterranean.