The Houthis have apparently attacked two vessels off Yemen’s coast within a mere few hours on Tuesday, as clearly the assault on international shipping by the Iran-aligned group has grown. The below alert from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre is the second one today. This comes as the Saudis are desperately trying to put together a ‘coalition of the willing’ to defend against such attacks. While the Houthis have not declared Bab al-Mandab Strait closed to ‘all’ shipping, they have declared a ‘siege for siege’ blockade against Saudi shipping. Trump has repeatedly threatened massive strikes if Tehran fails to reach a deal, only to later signal progress in negotiations.