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Saudi Arabia says its oil pipeline was attacked by drones

Published:Wednesday | May 15, 2019 | 12:09 AM
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the Saudi-flagged oil tanker Amjad off the coast of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, Monday, May 13, 2019. As many as four oil tankers anchored in the Mideast were damaged in what Gulf officials described Monday as a "sabotage" attack off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. (Satellite image ©2019 Maxar Technologies via AP)
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the Saudi-flagged oil tanker Amjad off the coast of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, Monday, May 13, 2019. As many as four oil tankers anchored in the Mideast were damaged in what Gulf officials described Monday as a "sabotage" attack off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. (Satellite image ©2019 Maxar Technologies via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP):

An oil pipeline that runs across Saudi Arabia was hit by drones yesterday west of its capital of Riyadh, the Saudi energy minister said shortly after rebels in Yemen claimed that they had carried out coordinated drone strikes against the kingdom.

The attacks followed reports of sabotage against oil tankers in the Persian Gulf off the coast of the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, with tensions rising between the United States (US) and Iran.

Oil prices rose yesterday, with benchmark Brent crude trading more than US 71 a barrel, up more than US 1 on the day.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih vowed that production and export of Saudi oil would not be interrupted. In a statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, he called the pipeline attack “cowardly”, saying that recent acts of sabotage against the kingdom’s vital installations were targeting not only Saudi Arabia but also the safety of the world’s energy supply and global economy.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they launched seven drones against vital installations in Saudi Arabia, which borders Yemen to the north. Saudi Arabia has been at war with the Houthis and their allies in Yemen since March 2015, targeting the Iranian-allied rebels with near daily air strikes.

“This is a message to Saudi Arabia: Stop your aggression,” Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdel-Salam told The Associated Press. “Our goal is to respond to the crimes they are committing every day against the Yemeni people.”

The two oil-pumping stations targeted in Saudi Arabia are more than 800 kilometres (500 miles) from Yemen’s northern border with the kingdom. It wasn’t immediately known where the Houthis launched the drones.

The attacks demonstrated the increased risks in a region vital to global energy supplies amid heightened tensions following the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and the subsequent reimposition of US sanctions to cripple the Iranian economy. Iran has since said it would begin enriching uranium at higher levels by July 7 if world powers failed to negotiate new terms for the deal.

Al-Falih said the drone attacks reaffirm the need for the international community to confront the activities of groups like the Houthis, whom he accused of being backed by Iran, Saudi Arabia’s regional rival.