Riyadh blames, Iran, Houthis for attack on oil facility

RIYADH (AA) - Saudi Arabia has sent a letter to the UN Security Council blaming Iran and Yemen’s Houthi rebel group for targeting its oil facilities in a Tuesday drone attack.

The message was delivered on Wednesday by Riyadh's permanent UN representative Abdullah bin Yahya al-Maalami, Saudi satellite TV channel Al-Arabiya reported.

In the letter, Saudi Arabia held Iran and the Houthis "totally responsible" for Tuesday's attack, according to Al-Arabiya.

The broadcaster also reported that a second letter was sent by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) -- to both the Security Council and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres -- regarding alleged acts of “sabotage” carried out Sunday against four ships off the coast of Fujairah (one of the UAE’s seven emirates).

On Tuesday, armed drones attacked two oil installations in Saudi Arabia, according to the Saudi authorities.

The attacks targeted two oil pump stations on the East-West Pipeline, which carries oil from Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province to the Port of Yanbu, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Notably, the recent attacks come amid mounting tension between Iran and the U.S. after the Pentagon announced the deployment earlier this week of an aircraft carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf.

The Pentagon justified the naval deployment by citing “intelligence” of a possible looming Iranian attack on U.S. interests in the region.

Tehran responded to the escalation by threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz, a main artery for global oil shipments linking the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman.

* Writing by Ali Abo Rezeg