Seven tankers have changed course in the Red Sea to avoid the Bab el-Mandeb strait since the Houthis' threat on Tuesday to block Saudi oil exports, highlighting a new risk to global oil supplies from the intensifying conflict.

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In response to Trump's threat to Iran's infrastructure, an Iranian military source cited by Tasnim news agency said Tehran would retaliate against infrastructure in the region.

Iran's near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf has stoked inflation around the world, and the new risk to shipping from the ​Houthis, who control areas near the Bab el-Mandeb strait, pushed oil prices to a near six-week high.

Brent crude futures hit more than $95 a barrel before easing back to nearer $93 by midmorning U.S. time.

U.S. gasoline ​prices, which have weighed on Trump's poll ratings ahead of midterm elections in November, have climbed back over $4 a gallon.
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Millions of barrels of Saudi oil per day have ⁠been heading to the kingdom's Red Sea port of Yanbu to avoid the Strait of Hormuz. If shipments cannot pass through the Red Sea's southern Bab el-Mandeb Strait, they have only the northern route out via ​the Suez Canal, which adds weeks to the journey.