ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iran-backed Ansarullah movement in Yemen, better known as the Houthis, on Monday claimed they launched drone attacks on "sensitive" crude supply lines in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, shortly after Riyadh accused Iran-aligned "terrorist militias" in Iraq of attempting to target its oil facilities there and urged Baghdad to take action to deter them.
"A number of targets and sensitive positions related to the crude oil supply and transport lines from Eastern Saudi Arabia to Yanbu [along Saudi Arabia's western coast on the Red Sea] were struck using multiple drones," said Yahya Saree, the Houthis' military spokesperson, in a statement posted on X.
Saree further cited Saudi's alleged dispatch of "drones that violated Yemeni airspace" as reason for the attacks.
The remarks came shortly after Saudi Arabia's defense ministry said on Monday that “air defenses had intercepted and destroyed a number of drones over the past hours that had attempted to target oil facilities in the Eastern Province and Riyadh, according to ministry spokesperson Major General Turki al-Malki.
"These terrorist attempts were launched from Iraqi territory and carried out by terrorist militias affiliated with Iran," Malki said, affirming the kingdom's "inherent right to defend itself and its resources" and its reservation of "the right to respond at the time and place of its choosing."
For its part, the Saudi foreign ministry expressed Riyadh's "condemnation, in the strongest terms, of the reprehensible attacks it was subjected to by drones launched by Iran-affiliated militias in Iraq."
It further affirmed Saudi Arabia's "determination to safeguard its security and sovereignty and deter the aggressors," while urging the Iraqi government to "take all measures required to ensure that its territory is not used as a launchpad for aggression."
The Monday incident notably came days after Abu Alaa al-Walai, leader of a powerful Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group, on Friday welcomed the Houthis' announcement that they would impose a blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea.
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