The attack on Saudi oil facilities

On September 14, 2019 drones attacked the state oil processing facilities of Saudi Aramco in Abqaiq (Biqayq in Arabic) and Khurais in eastern Saudi Arabia on September 14, 2019. The Houthi movement in Yemen was attributed the responsibility, tying him to events surrounding Saudi Arabia’s intervention in the Yemeni Civil War. Mike Pompeo and other US authorities pointed out that this attack could not be carried out from Yemen because the Yemenis (houthis) would not have the capacity to carry it out and blamed (probably) Iran. Saudi spokesmen also accused Iran of being behind the attacks.

However, Yemenis have carried out dozens of attacks of varying magnitude to cities near the border, to the Riyadh airport, to pipelines, and other targets. These actions were carried out, according to the Houthis authorities themselves, due to the continuous bombing of the cities and infrastructure of Yemen for 4 years with tens of thousands of deaths and much destruction in the country.

Below is a summary of the press conference given by the Houthis shortly after the attack.

The Houthis respond

At a press conference about 30 minutes after the Saudis, Houthi rebels threatened to hit the main cities of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the main coalition partner of the Saudis in the war in Yemen.

"We announce ... that we have dozens of targets in the UAE, including Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and they can be attacked at any time," said Yehia Sarea, a military spokesman for Houthi.

"If you want peace and security for your facilities and glass towers that cannot support a single drone, then leave Yemen alone."

He also refuted that the rebels were not responsible for launching the attacks from within Yemen.

"This operation was an example of how our military plans develop and execute operations within the countries of the aggressors," said Sarea.

He showed satellite images of the affected Saudi facility and said the damage caused was much more extensive than the Saudis and the Americans claim.

The deployed drones were able to fly 700km and "very precise" in launching precision attacks, he added.

"The fires burned for 12 hours and the attackers could not control them. The destruction is much greater," Sarea said.