Attack on Saudi Oil Facility

The Saudi government warned on Saturday that it will drastically reduce its oil output after its main oil refinery - the largest in the world - and an oilfield were set on fire by coordinated drone attacks. The drones were launched from Houthi-controlled territory near the capital of neighboring Yemen. The Houthi rebels are members of a non-mainstream sect of Islam who overthrew the internationally-recognized government of Yemen in 2015 after seizing the captial of Sana'a. They are financed, supported and armed by Iran, who have used the Houthis as proxies to attack their enemies in the region, primarily Saudi Arabia. The drones used in the attack flew over 1000 kilometers in order to reach their targets, deep inside Saudi territory. This suggests a level of technological and operational sophistication which the Houthis do not posses, and therefore the Iranian regime must have provided.

This is the second coordinated attack with killer drones by Iranian-supported proxies in as many weeks, coming after Hezbollah operatives attempted to pilot explosives-laden droves over the Golani border from Syria into Israel. Those drones were rendered inoperable by the Israeli military, and the incident prompted a major escalation in tensions between Israel and Hezbollah. Likewise, the attack on the Saudi refinery and its impact on the global marketplace is a major escalation in tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The Saudi-led and Western-backed Arab Coaltion now finds itself practically aligned with Israel and the United States against the growing threat of Iranian hegemony in the region.

Photo: The largest oil refinery in the world, located in Eastern Saudi Arabia, burns after a drone attack perpetrated by the Houthi rebels in Yemen, with the patronage and support of Iran (Credit: Guardian News source).

Sources:

https://www.theguardian.com/…/saudi-arabia-major-fire-at-wo…

https://www.jpost.com/…/Drone-attack-on-Saudi-oil-facilitie…