(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia will take measures to ensure global energy security and deter attacks on its oil infrastructure, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said in Riyadh on Wednesday, days after a missile and drone assault on Saudi Aramco (SE:2222) facilities.
The attack on Sunday targeted a key crude installation of the state oil company and was claimed by Iran-backed fighters in neighboring Yemen who are battling a Saudi-led coalition. It was intercepted but represented a serious escalation, stirring regional tensions at a time when U.S. President Joe Biden aims to re-enter nuclear diplomacy with Tehran.
“The failed attempts to target the port of Ras Tanura do not only target the security of the economy and Saudi Arabia. They target the global economy and its oil supplies and the global energy security,” Prince Faisal said at a press conference alongside his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
“The kingdom will take necessary and deterrent measures to protect its national resources to preserve global energy security and stop the terrorist attacks to ensure stability of energy supplies and security of petroleum exports,” he said.
Saudi Arabian Oil Site Attacked, Stoking Regional Tensions
The international community needs to take a strong stance to prevent such attacks, Prince Faisal said, blaming Iran for supplying the Houthis with ballistic missiles and drones. The assault on some of the world’s most protected oil infrastructure didn’t dent output, but it briefly pushed up the price of crude. Shrapnel from a missile also landed close to a residential compound for Aramco employees and their families.
The Saudi-led coalition has been battling the Houthis for six years in a war that the United Nations says has led to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
“The kingdom is committed to ending the war in Yemen through a political resolution, but on the other side of this conflict is a group driven by the extremist ideology of the Iranian regime,” Saudi ambassador to the U.S., Princess Reema bint Bandar, said in a statement Tuesday, describing Sunday’s events as “egregious terrorist attacks.”
Understanding the Conflicts Leading to Saudi Attacks: QuickTake
(Adds quotes, detail)
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.