Norway-flagged tanker Strinda hit by Iran-backed Houthi missile

A cruise missile struck a Norway-flagged tanker off the coast of Yemen, causing damage. A US destroyer intervened to assist the vessel, while the Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack.

The latest threatening move by the Houthis has escalated military and political tensions in the Red Sea, a vital international trade route.

The attack occurred north of the Bab al-Mandab Strait in the Red Sea, near the Yemeni city of Mocha. Iran-backed Houthi forces claimed responsibility for the action, alleging that they carried out the attack after the tanker's crew failed to respond to warnings.

The crew of the Strinda, which was en route to Venice carrying vegetable oil and biofuels loaded in Malaysia, escaped the incident unharmed. Following the intervention of a US destroyer, the Strinda was forced to change course and head toward a safe port.

The fact that a commercial vessel sailing on a strategic trade route was openly targeted and attacked by a state-backed group has also raised serious concerns regarding international maritime security and freedom of navigation.

At the start of the Israel-Hamas war, Houthi forces had threatened to block ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea. However, the fact that the Strinda, which does not have a clear link to Israel, was also attacked has further complicated the dimensions of the threat, drawing other countries with ships on the same route into the circle of threat.

On the other hand, the Houthis had announced in a statement in recent weeks that they would only allow the passage of ships carrying aid to Gaza and would consider all other ships as 'legitimate targets'.