Saudi envoy says Houthi attacks on Aramco threaten workers from 80 countries

Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States warned on Wednesday that the Houthi attacks on Aramco oil facilities in the Kingdom threatens the lives of workers from at least 80 countries, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) has reported.

“The recent missile and drone attacks on Aramco facilities represent a threat to the stability of global energy supplies, affecting the entire global economy and endangering the lives of Saudi workers in Aramco and thousands more from 80 different nationalities, including Americans,” explained Princess Rima Bint Bandar Bin Sultan.

“We exercise extreme restraint in the face of a daily barrage of armed drones and ballistic missiles, and it is sad that despite our active efforts to resolve the conflict, the Houthis have only escalated their attacks on the Kingdom, and at the same time they have stepped up their attack in Marib, Yemen, which houses more than a million internally displaced people.”

The Saudi ambassador added that the renewal of international commitments to end the war in Yemen means an end to the smuggling of Iranian weapons to the war-torn country that are used to terrorise Yemeni citizens and to launch attacks on civilian targets in Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom has long accused Iran of providing weapons, training and technical support to the Houthis. There was no comment from the Houthis or Iran about the ambassador’s statement.

The Houthis announced last Sunday that fourteen drones and eight ballistic missiles targeted an Aramco oil facility as well as military targets in the Dammam area of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Asir and Jizan in the south-west of the Kingdom were also targeted.

The rebel group says that the attacks are a response to the Saudi-led coalition’s ongoing air strikes against its facilities and personnel in Yemen.

READ: US ‘alarmed’ by frequency of attacks on Saudi after Houthis target oil heartland