U.S. embassy condemns the attack of Houthi on Saudi oil heartland

The United States said on Monday it is committed to defending Saudi Arabia following drone and missile strikes by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement, including a Saudi facility vital to oil exports.

Saudi authorities informed that there were no casualties or any property losses from the attacks targeting an oil storage yard at Ras Tanura, the site of a refinery and the world’s biggest offshore oil loading facility, and is also a residential compound in Dhahran used by state-controlled oil giant Saudi Aramco. 

The attacks come at a time of tension in the decades-old union between Saudi Arabia and the United States, as President Joe Biden pressures Riyadh over its human rights record and the disastrous Yemen war.

The U.S. embassy in the kingdom said that the heinous Houthi assaults on civilians and vital infrastructure demonstrate a lack of respect for human life and disregard for peace efforts. They said in a Twitter post, written in Arabic language.

It also said “The United States stands by Saudi Arabia and its people. Our commitment to defend the Kingdom and its security are firm.”

The Houthis have been battling a Saudi – led coalition in Yemen for six years in a conflict. It is considered to be a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The group informed that its operation on Sunday also attracted military targets in the Saudi cities of Dammam, Asir, and Jazan. They used 14 drones and eight ballistic missiles for the attack. 

The union said it has destroyed 12 Houthi drones but did not specify the locations in the kingdom. Two ballistic missiles were launched towards Jazan.