UN experts: Attack on Saudi Aramco were not from Yemen

Employes of Aramco oil company stand near a heavily damaged installation after the facility was attacked on 20 September 2019 [FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images]

A panel of UN experts said Houthi fighters in Yemen could not have launched the missile attacks that targeted Saudi Aramco facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais on 14 September 2019.

In a report submitted to the United Nations Security Council, the panel of experts said: “The estimated range of the weapon systems used does not allow for a launch from Houthi-controlled territory.”

In September, Saudi Aramco’s facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais were attacked by 18 drones and three low-flying missiles causing fires and damage and shutting down more than five per cent of the global oil supply.

READ: Saudi Aramco’s share continues decline despite historic OPEC+ deal

Saudi Arabia said Iran was behind the attacks, which temporarily knocked out half of the kingdom’s crude production.

But a leaked report by the UN’s secretary general says investigators could not corroborate that the drones and missiles were of Iranian origin.

Iran denied any role in the strikes.

Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.