Oil facilities outside Riyadh attacked, says Saudi Arabia
DUBAI/RIYADH/WASHINGTON: Saudi Arabia said armed drones had struck two oil pumping stations in the kingdom on Tuesday in what it called a “cowardly” act of terrorism two days after Saudi oil tankers were sabotaged off the coast of the UAE.
The energy minister of the world’s largest oil exporter said the attack caused a fire, now contained, and minor damage at one pump station, but did not disrupt oil production or exports of crude and petroleum products.
Oil prices spiked on news of the attack on the stations, more than 320km west of Riyadh.
Energy minister Khalid al-falih, in comments run by state media, said the drone attack and Sunday’s sabotage of four vessels, including two Saudi tankers, off Fujairah emirate, a major bunkering hub, threatened global oil supplies.
“These attacks prove again that it is important for us to face terrorist entities, including the Houthi militias in Yemen that are backed by Iran,” Falih said in a statement issued by his ministry.
Houthi-run Masirah TV earlier said the group had launched drone attacks on “vital” Saudi installations in response to “continued aggression and blockade” on Yemen.
PLAN TO SEND 120,000 TROOPS TO WEST ASIA
At a meeting of US President Donald Trump’s national security aides last week, acting defence secretary Patrick Shanahan presented a military plan that envisions sending as many as 120,000 troops to West Asia should Iran attack US forces or accelerate work on nuclear weapons, administration officials said.
The high-level review of the Pentagon’s plans was presented during a meeting on May 9, The New York Times quoted the officials as saying on Monday.
It was held days after what the Trump administration described as intelligence indicating Iran was mobilising proxy groups in Iraq and Syria to attack American forces.
On Monday, when asked if he was seeking regime change in Iran, Trump said, “We’ll see what happens with Iran. If they do anything, it would be a very bad mistake.”