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Saudi Arabia Says Drones Hit Oil Pipeline, After Reports of Tanker Attacks Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Attack Saudi Oil Pipeline, After Reports of Tanker Attacks
(about 5 hours later)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — A Saudi oil pipeline was attacked by drones, causing “limited damage,” the Saudi energy minister said on Tuesday, a day after Saudi Arabia said two of its oil tankers had been damaged in an act of sabotage, ratcheting up tensions in the region. BEIRUT, Lebanon — Yemen’s Houthi rebels carried out multiple drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities on Tuesday, a day after Saudi Arabia said two of its oil tankers had been damaged in an act of sabotage, ratcheting up tensions in the region.
The announcement came shortly after Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed, in a report on a TV station run by the Houthis, to have carried out an attack with seven drones that “targeted vital Saudi facilities.” The station, Al-Masirah, did not specify which targets had been struck or when, leaving it unclear whether it was describing the same attack as the Saudis. A Houthi spokesman, Mohammed Abdul Salam, claimed responsibility for the drone strikes on Twitter, saying that they were a response to Saudi “aggression” and “genocide” in Yemen.
Though little hard information has emerged about the tanker attacks, American and Gulf suspicions have centered on Iran, in an area already jittery about the prospect of a violent clash with the republic. The Trump administration has warned of planned aggression by Iran or its proxies, though it has not elaborated on that claim, and has deployed military forces to the region, while Iran recently threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route. Although the Houthis are backed by Iran, it was unclear whether the attacks were related to increasing tensions between Iran and the United States and its allies in the Persian Gulf.
Saudi Aramco, the government-controlled oil company, has stopped pumping through the pipeline while it assesses the damage and makes repairs, the energy minister, Khalid al-Falih, said on Tuesday. A Houthi-run television station, Al Masirah, reported Tuesday that seven drones had “targeted vital Saudi facilities.”
“The Kingdom condemns this cowardly attack, and this recent terrorist and sabotage act in the Arabian Gulf against vital installations not only targets the Kingdom, but also targets the safety of the world’s energy supply and the global economy,” the statement read. The Saudi energy minister, Khalid al-Falih, said the attacks on two pumping stations had caused “limited damage.” He said the government was shutting down a pipeline while it assessed the damage and made repairs.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are fighting against the Houthis in Yemen to restore the government that the Houthis ousted from the capital, Sanaa, in late 2014. The war in Yemen is viewed as another front in the regional power struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran, though the Houthis deny that they are an Iranian proxy. Though little hard information has emerged about the tanker attacks, American and Gulf suspicions have centered on Iran, in an area already jittery about the prospect of a violent clash with the republic. Iran called the attacks a “regretful incident” and has called for an investigation.
The United Arab Emirates has said that four ships were damaged on Sunday in its coastal waters near the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway to the Persian Gulf, through which much of the world’s oil flows. On Monday, the Saudi government said two of the ships were Saudi tankers — identified by industry officials as the Al Marzoqah and the Amjad — and a Norwegian shipping company said another was one of its tankers, the Andrea Victory. The Trump administration has warned of planned aggression by Iran or its proxies, though it has not elaborated on that contention, and it has deployed military forces to the region.
The damaged pipelines run from the oil production areas in the eastern part of the country to the Red Sea in the West, where the Saudis maintain export facilities. Those facilities help ensure they can continue to export oil if they have difficulties doing so from the Persian Gulf. Iran suggested Tuesday that the tanker attacks were a provocation intended to escalate tensions.
Sadad I. Al-Husseni, a former executive vice president of Saudi Aramco, said he doubted that the drone attack, which he called “not an amateurish job” could have been carried out by the Houthis, or from within Houthi-held territory, hundreds of miles away. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Iran had “previously predicted that such actions would occur to create tensions in the region,” according to IRNA, a state news agency.
Whatever the case, the strike did not pose a serious risk to the Saudi infrastructure, said Mr. Al-Husseni, now an energy consultant. Speaking in New Delhi, he also warned of the danger posed by “extremist individuals in the U.S. government.”
Mr. Zarif and other Iranian officials have sought to portray President Trump’s national security adviser, John R. Bolton, as a warmonger eager to push the two countries into conflict.
The United Arab Emirates has said that four ships were damaged on Sunday in its coastal waters near the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway to the Persian Gulf, through which much of the world’s oil flows.
The Saudi government said two of the ships were Saudi tankers, identified by industry officials as the Al Marzoqah and the Amjad, and a Norwegian shipping company said another was one of its tankers, the Andrea Victory. The fourth was an Emirati tanker.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have said they were investigating the attacks. American officials said they suspected that Iran was involved but said Monday that there was no definitive evidence linking Iran or its proxies to the attacks.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that the United States was still trying to get more information about the attacks.
“I don’t have any information that I can share with you about the nature of what took place there,” he said at a new conference in Sochi, Russia. “We’re working diligently to get answers to what caused those ships to have the problems that they have today.”
The attack on the Saudi oil facilities added a new element to the tensions in the region.
“The Kingdom condemns this cowardly attack,” Mr. Falih, the Saudi energy minister, said in a statement. “And this recent terrorist and sabotage act in the Arabian Gulf against vital installations not only targets the Kingdom, but also targets the safety of the world’s energy supply and the global economy.”
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are fighting the Houthis in Yemen to restore the government that the Houthis ousted from the capital, Sanaa, in late 2014. The war in Yemen is viewed as another front in the regional power struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Saudi Arabia considers the Houthis an Iranian proxy. The Houthis receive support from Iran, but deny that they are an Iranian proxy.
The affected pipeline runs from the oil production areas in the eastern part of the country to the Red Sea in the West, where the Saudis maintain export facilities. Those facilities help ensure they can continue to export oil if they have difficulties doing so from the Persian Gulf.
Sadad I. Al-Husseni, a former executive vice president of Saudi Aramco, said the strikes did not pose a serious risk to the Saudi infrastructure.
“The facilities in the kingdom were designed at a time when there were wars going on in the Gulf,” he said. “So everything was redesigned and upgraded in order to take advantage or make allowances for the security aspects.”“The facilities in the kingdom were designed at a time when there were wars going on in the Gulf,” he said. “So everything was redesigned and upgraded in order to take advantage or make allowances for the security aspects.”