Houthis attack Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline again
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militants have claimed attacks on crude oil pumping stations along Saudi Arabia’s highly crucial East-West oil pipeline.
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Over the weekend, the Houthis have attacked Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company Aramco’s facility in Yanbu, the militant group’s spokesperson Yahya Sare’e said on social media platform Telegram.
The Houthis have also targeted the Rabigh oil refinery, as well as the pumping stations along the 1,200 km East-West onshore oil pipeline, Sare’e said.
Saudi Arabia is yet to confirm the attacks on the oil pipeline, which had only resumed operations days prior, following the September attack that crippled multiple pumping sites for two weeks.
The militant group has targeted multiple airports in Saudi Arabia in recent days, including King Khalid International Airport, King Fahd International Airport, and Najran Airport.
The Houthis claim their assaults are targeted to reclaim territory near the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait – another crucial oil chokepoint like the Strait of Hormuz.
Earlier on Saturday, the Saudi-led coalition against the Houthis in Yemen said that air defenses intercepted and destroyed ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi toward Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The assault on the East-West Pipeline – Riyadh’s critical export route that funnels about 70% of its crude exports through Yanbu to circumvent the Strait of Hormuz – has heightened anxieties over Middle Eastern supply amid a backdrop of soaring crude oil prices.
Yesterday, Egypt’s parliament authorised military support to defend Saudi Arabia, following the latest attacks on the East-West crude pipeline and on Riyadh’s international airports – a move that could drag Cairo directly into the Middle East conflict.
The Egyptian Parliament authorised President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to take “all necessary measures” to help Saudi Arabia defend itself, Reuters reported.
By Aparupa Mazumder
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