Yemen's Houthis said they launched attacks on Saudi energy facilities on Friday and also the Saudi-led coalition said oil giant Aramco's petroleum products distribution station in Jeddah was hit, causing a hearth in two storage tanks but no casualties.
A huge plume of black smoke might be seen rising over the sea city where the Arabian car race is going down this weekend, an eyewitness said. The Iran-aligned Houthis have escalated attacks on the kingdom's oil facilities in recent weeks and sooner than a brief truce for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The coalition has repeatedly said it's exercising self-restraint within the face of the attacks, but launched a operation in Yemen ahead of time Saturday saying it aimed to guard global energy sources and ensure supply chains.
A coalition statement on state media on Friday said the hearth had been brought in restraint. Flames could still be seen in live footage aired by Saudi-owned Ekhbariya TV channel.
The Saudi energy ministry said the dominion strongly condemned the "sabotage attacks", reiterating that it might not bear responsibility for any global oil supply disruptions resulting from such attacks, state news organisation SPA reported, citing a politician within the ministry.
The ministry blamed Iran for continuing to arm the Houthis with ballistic missiles and advanced drones, stressing that the attacks "would cause impacting the Kingdom's production capacity and its ability to fulfil its obligations to global markets". Teheran denies arming the Houthis.
There was no immediate comment from Aramco.
The coalition said its Saturday airstrikes targeted "sources of threat" within the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa and also the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.
The attacks came as Jeddah was hosting the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The dense black smoke might be seen from the race circuit, a Reuters witness said. Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali told drivers and team bosses that the Grand Prix would move as planned, and its perform well with zeal.
Vital facilities
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the group launched missiles on Friday at Aramco's facilities in Jeddah and drones at the Ras Tanura and Rabigh refineries, and said it had also targeted "vital facilities" in Riyadh, the capital.
Saudi state media earlier said the coalition had foiled a string of Houthi drone and rocket attacks. Saudi air defence also destroyed a missile launched towards Jizan, which caused a "limited" fire at an electricity distribution plant.
The Houthi escalation comes because the UN special envoy tries to secure a short lived truce for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan that starts this April, and earlier than Riyadh's hosting Yemeni parties for consultations later this month.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the attacks said the U.S. would still work with Riyadh to strengthen its defences while working for a durable resolution to the conflict in Yemen.
"At a time when the parties should be focused on de-escalation and bringing needed life-saving relief to the Yemeni people previous the holy month of Ramadan, the Houthis continue their destructive behavior and reckless terrorist attacks striking civilian infrastructure," Blinken said.
Last weekend a Houthi assault on the dominion caused in output at a refinery and a hearth at a petroleum products distribution terminal. On March 11, the group targeted a refinery in Riyadh, causing a tiny low fire.