Iran-backed Houthi rebels attack Saudi oil facilities

Saudi Arabia confirmed on Sunday that two major oil facilities in the country, including land owned by Saudi state-owned Aramco, had come under attack today. no casualties or material damage were recorded, according to the official Saudi agency SPA.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Energy said that one of the oil reservoirs in the eastern port of Ras Tanura, one of the largest crude oil transport ports in the world, was attacked Sunday morning by a drone “from the sea”, without specifying the location.

He also pointed out that hours later there was “another deliberate attempt to attack Aramco facility” when “ballistic missile shards” fell near residential area belonging to the oil company of the city of Dhahran.

According to the source, “thousands of company employees and their families of different nationalities live in this residential area”. Both attacks, however, “Did not result in any injury or loss of life or property”, the Saudi Energy spokesperson reported.

He also condemned the “repeated acts of sabotage and hostility”, which “target not only the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but also the security and stability of the world’s energy supply and, consequently, to the world economy ”.

Saudi Arabia is the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) largest producer and it has about 17% of the world’s crude oil reserves.

The incident comes after Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen announced today that they launched a total of 22 attacks against different points in Saudi Arabia throughout the day, using 14 drones and eight ballistic missiles, and They assured that they had succeeded in attacking the Aramco facilities.

The Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya sarea, said on Twitter that his group had succeeded in “carrying out a major offensive deep in Saudi Arabia with 14 drones and eight ballistic missiles”, and clarified that Samad 3 drones and “Zulfiqar” missiles were being used.

According to Sarea, the operation targeted the facilities of the state oil company Aramco in the eastern port of Ras Tanura, where one of the country’s most important pipelines is located, connecting the kingdom from east to west.

Likewise, the Houthis claimed to have attacked “military objectives” in Damam province (east), as well as in the southern regions of Yazan and Asir, where “the impact was precise”, according to the military spokesman of the United States. rebels. “The attacks occur within the framework of our natural and legitimate right to respond to the escalation of aggression and the total siege of our beloved country,” said Sarea, who threatened to carry out “more painful operations. “against Saudi Arabia.

For its part, the Riyadh-led military coalition, which has intervened in Yemen since 2015, today announced that it has intercepted a total of 12 drone bombs that were directed against its territory and other ballistic missiles that targeted the Yazan region. .

On March 4, the Houthis claimed to have hit targets of the Saudi state oil company Aramco with a missile in the western city of Jeddah, located on the Red Sea coast, an area which is a regular target of the rebel movement. Yemenite.

Last November, they struck a crude tank at a distribution station without causing significant damage. And in September 2019, another attack claimed by the Yemeni group resulted in the 50% suspension of Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, although Riyadh blamed the attack on Iran.

The events marked a further escalation of the six-year conflict in Yemen between the coalition-backed Yemeni government and Houthi insurgents, despite a further push by the United States to end hostilities.

With information from EFE

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