Saudi Arabia has threatened to hit back after a wave of missiles from Yemen's Houthis set Aramco oil facilities ablaze, the group’s heaviest attack in years, pushing Brent crude prices to their highest in six weeks, nearing $100 a barrel.
The attacks that hit facilities belonging to state oil giant Aramco in Abha and Jizan on Tuesday caused "temporary" shutdowns and left 73 wounded, Saudi authorities said.
The Houthi attacks on energy facilities pushed up oil prices, which have spiked since the US-Iran war.
Meanwhile, Houthis later reported a series of retaliatory Saudi strikes, with no confirmation from Riyadh yet.
Just after the Houthi strikes, Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said, "Riyadh will take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty," demanding a halt to the Houthi strikes and their attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.
‘Large-scale attacks’
The Houthis fired dozens of ballistic missiles, their military spokesperson said.
In a statement, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group carried out a “large-scale” military operation using dozens of ballistic missiles and drones.
He also said the attacks targeted Aramco facilities in Abha, Najran and Jizan, as well as Khamis Mushait Air Base.
Saree claimed the strikes were “precise and direct” and caused extensive damage to the targeted facilities.
The Houthi spokesperson said the operation was in response to Saudi air strikes in Yemen, claiming that Saudi Arabia had carried out 121 strikes over the past three days in Marib, Al-Bayda, Al-Hudaydah, Taiz and Al-Jawf provinces.
‘Dangerous escalation’
The Saudi energy ministry also reported strikes at energy facilities in the kingdom’s southern region and said some operations at the targeted sites were temporarily halted.
Saudi-led coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki called the attacks a “dangerous escalation” and said the coalition would take all necessary operational measures to deter the Houthis and neutralise sources of threats.
Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognised Yemeni government.
Fighting between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces has reignited after a four-year truce collapsed in July, months into the Middle East war between the United States and Iran.
In recent days, hundreds have died in clashes around the Bab al Mandeb strait, the mouth of the vital Red Sea shipping route.
The Houthis imposed a naval blockade in July against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea in response to what they described as a Saudi siege on Yemen, an allegation Riyadh has denied.
Diesel prices have also hit record highs and nearly doubled since the start of the US-Iran conflict, as have gasoline prices.
