Abu Dhabi: Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US said “egregious terrorist attacks” by Iran-backed militias on the Kingdom threatened both civilians and global energy security.
Arab coalition forces intercepted a drone targeting an oil tank yard in Ras Tanura Port and a missile heading for an Aramco residential area in Dhahran on Sunday.
The attacks “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,” Princess Reema bint Bandar said on Wednesday.
Princess Reema said in a statement about peace efforts in Yemen and the escalation of attacks against the Kingdom: “The Kingdom is committed to ending the war in Yemen through a political solution, but on the other side of this conflict there is a group driven by the extremist ideology of the Iranian regime, noting that the Houthis continue to ignore the suffering of the Yemeni brothers. And, through their actions, they demonstrate their lack of interest in the serious dialogue required to end the crisis in Yemen.”
She stressed Saudi Arabia’s determination, since the start of the conflict, to restore stability and security to Yemen through negotiation, as well as its support for all UN peace initiatives since 2015, and that Saudi officials remain supportive of the efforts of the United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths and the American Envoy to Yemen Timothy Lenderking.
Princess Reema added: “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 Al 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, have bombed Taiz and other Yemeni civilian centers, and the Al Houthis believe they can get away with it.”
Princess Reema indicated that Iran continues to provide weapons, training and technical support to the Al Houthis, stressing that the renewal of international commitments to end the war in Yemen means an end to the smuggling of Iranian weapons to Yemen that are used to terrorise Yemenis, and to launch attacks on civilian targets in Saudi Arabia.
Princess Reema also drew attention to the fact that the Al Houthis have prevented the United Nations teams from inspecting and maintaining the old oil tanker (Safer) for nearly three years, which threatens an oil spill that would destroy marine life in the Red Sea and damage the Yemeni coasts. In addition, their targeting of oil installations in the Kingdom threatens the local environment by exposing the coasts and regional waters to a potentially catastrophic spillage of oil or oil products.
Princess Reema praised the courageous and brilliant efforts made by the Saudi armed forces to protect civilians from all forms of threats, including the successful interception of more than 526 Al Houthi drones and more than 346 ballistic missiles.
