Saudi Arabia says oil facilities outside Riyadh have been attacked

RIYADH / DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia has said that armed drones hit Tuesday two pump stations in the kingdom, during a "cowardly" terrorist act two days after the sabotage of Saudi tankers off the United Arab Emirates.

The energy minister of the world's largest oil exporter said the attack caused a fire, now under control, and caused minor damage to a pumping station, without disrupting oil or gas production and exports. oil products.

Oil prices rose sharply at the news of the attack stations, more than 320 km west of Riyadh, the capital. Futures contracts on Brent rose 1.38% to 71.20 USD at 11.14 GMT.

Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said in a statement released by the official press that the drone attack and sabotage of four ships, including two Saudi oil tankers, off the Emirate of Fujairah, a hub of bunkering, threatened the supply of oil.

"These attacks again prove that it is important for us to confront terrorist entities, including Iranian-backed Houthi militias in Yemen," Falih said in a published English-language statement. by his ministry.

The Houthi-run Masirah television station said the group had launched drone attacks on "vital" Saudi facilities in response to "continued aggression and blockade" in Yemen.

A Saudi coalition has been fighting for four years against the Houthis in the country of the Arabian Peninsula in an attempt to restore internationally recognized government in a conflict widely regarded as an indirect war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The Houthis have repeatedly launched drone and missile attacks on Saudi cities, but two former Saudi sources of Reuters, this was the first time an Aramco facility was hit by drones.

Aramco, a state-owned company, said it had temporarily closed the East-West Pipeline, known as Petroline, in order to assess its state. The pipeline mainly transports crude from fields located in the east of the kingdom to the port of Yanbu, north of Bab al-Mandeb.

The attacks occur in a war of words between Washington and Tehran over sanctions and the US military presence in the region.

IRAN IN THE FOCUS

The UAE has not disclosed details about the nature of the attack of ships near Fujairah, a bunkering hub located just outside the Strait of Ormuz, nor accused any party nor any country.

Iran was one of the main suspects of sabotage Sunday, although Washington has no conclusive evidence, said Monday a US official familiar with US intelligence.

Iran denied any involvement and described the attack as "disturbing and daunting" attack against the four merchant ships. He called for an inquiry.

The US ambassador to Saudi Arabia said Washington should dismiss what he called "reasonable answers without war" after determining who was behind the attacks near Fujairah.

"We need to do a thorough investigation to understand what happened, why it happened, and then find reasonable answers outside the war," Ambassador John Abizaid told reporters. in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, in a statement issued Tuesday.

"It's not in Iran's interest, it's not in our interest, it's not in Saudi Arabia's interest to have a conflict."

Washington has tightened sanctions against Tehran, saying it wants to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero, after renouncing the 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and the world powers last year.

The US Maritime Administration said last week that Iran could target US merchant ships, including tankers, using the Middle East waterways. Tehran has called the US military presence a "target" rather than a threat.

A fifth of the world's oil consumption passes through the Strait of Hormuz since the Middle East crude oil producers to the markets of Asia, Europe, North America and beyond. The narrow waterway separates Iran from the Arabian Peninsula.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards last month threatened to close the Hormuz crossing if Tehran was banned from using it.

US President Donald Trump wants to force Tehran to agree to a wider arms control agreement. He sent an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers into the Gulf to show the force against what US officials have said are threats to US troops in the region.