However, the Houthis did not offer specific details and are believed to have blocked an earlier attempt to salvage the vessel and continue to attack shipping across the Red Sea.

Last week’s attack on the Sounion marked the most serious assault in weeks by the Houthi rebels, who continue to target shipping through the Red Sea corridor over the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

The attacks have disrupted the $1 trillion in trade that typically passes through the region, as well as halted some aid shipments to conflict-ravaged Sudan and Yemen.

Iran’s U.N. mission said Wednesday that following the fire on the Sounion “and the subsequent environmental hazards,” several countries it didn’t identify reached out to the Houthis “requesting a temporary truce for the entry of tugboats and rescue ships into the incident area.”

“Ansar Allah has consented to this,” the Iranian mission said, using another name for the Houthis. It offered no further details, nor did the Houthis.

Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam, in comments carried by the Houthi-controlled SABA news agency, said late Wednesday that the attack showed how serious the rebels took their campaign against shipping.

"After several international parties contacted us, especially the European ones, they were allowed to tow the burning oil ship Sounion,” Abdul-Salam said, without giving further details.

The Pentagon said Tuesday that attempts by an unidentified “third party” to send two tugboats to the stricken Sounion were blocked by the Houthis. Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that the Houthis’ actions demonstrate “their blatant disregard for not only human life, but also for the potential environmental catastrophe that this presents.”

Ryder said the Sounion appears to be leaking oil into the Red Sea, home to coral reefs and other natural habitats and wildlife. However, the European Union's Operation Aspides, whose mission is to protect shipping in the area, said as recently as Wednesday the ship was not leaking oil.