![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]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/2019_09-14-Aramco-attack.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
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.
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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.