Yemen’s Houthi movement said Monday it had targeted crude oil supply and transport sites linking eastern Saudi Arabia to the Yanbu export hub, with spokesman Yahya Saree tying the operation, according to Reuters, to what he described as Saudi drone incursions into Yemeni airspace. Saudi Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and no independent damage assessment of the claim has been made public.
Saudi Arabia said, according to Daily Sabah, that its air defenses intercepted and destroyed drones launched from Iraq the same day, aimed at oil facilities in the kingdom’s Eastern Province and Riyadh. The Defense Ministry attributed the drones to Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq, and the Foreign Ministry condemned the attack, reaffirming its right to respond to the sources of “the aggression” and calling on Baghdad to prevent Iraqi territory from being used as a launchpad against the kingdom.
Whether the two incidents were connected remains unclear. It is not established, according to Al Jazeera, whether the Iraq-launched drones and the Houthi claim were coordinated or separate operations, with both falling on a day when Iran and the US held off strikes against each other for a third consecutive night.
Baghdad moved quickly to distance itself from the Saudi allegation. Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi directed security authorities, according to Xinhua, to investigate the claim, with the government examining available evidence and pledging legal action against anyone found responsible, adding that Iraq “reaffirms its constitutional and unwavering commitment to the principles of good neighborliness and to preventing Iraqi territory from being used as a route or launching point for any attack targeting brotherly or friendly countries.”
