US forces launched a fresh wave of strikes on Iran for the thirteenth consecutive day early on Friday after President Donald Trump vowed “major military punishment” for Tehran and its Houthi allies over attacks on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea by the Yemeni rebels. The Houthi rebels, who control northern and western Yemen, said this week they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, which has diverted millions of barrels of oil per day by pipeline to the Red Sea to get around Iran’s blockade of Gulf oil through the Strait of Hormuz. Now, attacks in the Red Sea have extended the Middle East war to a second major shipping chokepoint.