Saudi Arabia is highly likely to respond militarily to the Houthis' attacks in the Red Sea, which would open the door to a tit-for-tat attack cycle that could quickly escalate, increase the risk of U.S. or Israeli involvement and disrupt Saudi oil exports . On July 22, the Iran-backed Yemeni Houthis claimed they had conducted a drone and missile attack against two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea that were in violation of the group's July 20 embargo against Saudi-linked vessels in the Red Sea. The claimed strikes — only one of which has been independently confirmed — marked the first Houthi attacks against commercial shipping since the embargo entered into effect and came a day after the U.S.-led Joint Maritime Information Center issued a notice stating that the Houthis had deployed missiles and drones near the Bab el-Mandeb strait in preparation for the embargo.