JIDDA, Saudi Arabia — Yemeni Houthi rebels on Friday attacked an oil depot in the Saudi city of Jeddah ahead of a Formula 1 race in the kingdom. It was the most high-profile attack by the rebels, although the Saudi authorities promised that the upcoming Grand Prix would take place as scheduled.
The attack targeted the same fuel depot that the Houthis have attacked in recent days, an oil depot in North Jeddah, which lies southeast of the city’s international airport and is an important hub for Muslim pilgrims bound for Mecca. There were no reports of casualties in the attack.
Saudi Arabian Oil Co., known as Saudi Aramco, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Saudi authorities acknowledged a “hostile operation” by the Houthis against the warehouse without describing the weapons used in the attack.
In Yemen, Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition fighting the Iranian-backed Houthis, who captured the Yemeni capital Sanaa in September 2014. The kingdom, which entered the war in 2015, is facing international criticism for airstrikes that have killed scores of civilians. what the Houthis are pointing at by launching drones, rockets and mortars into the kingdom.
Brig. General Turki al-Malki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said two tanks were damaged in the fire and no one was hurt.
“This hostile escalation is targeting oil facilities and aims to undermine energy security and the foundation of the global economy,” al-Malki said, according to a Saudi state agency. “These hostile attacks have in no way affected or affected public life in Jeddah.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the Houthi attacks on Twitter. “These strikes endanger the lives of civilians and must be stopped,” he wrote.
An Associated Press photojournalist covering practice sessions at the Jeddah Formula 1 circuit saw smoke rising in the distance to the east just after 5:40 pm. When the flames rose, the tops of the oil depot tanks were clearly visible for about 11.5 kilometers. (7 miles) away.
Drivers raced until the evening, even when the fire was burning.
The second-ever Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah will take place on Sunday, although some have expressed concern over the recent attacks on the kingdom.
Hours later, F1 officials said that plans for a third Saturday practice and qualifying session, as well as Sunday’s race, were not yet complete. Saudi Motorsport, which is promoting the race, acknowledged the attack but said “the schedule for the race weekend will continue as planned.”
We are “in direct contact with the Saudi security authorities, as well as F1 and the FIA, to ensure that all necessary security measures are in place,” the company said, referring to the motorsports governing body.
“The safety and security of all our guests continues to be our top priority.”
Al-Masirah satellite news channel, run by Yemeni Houthi rebels, later claimed they had attacked an Aramco facility in Jeddah, as well as other targets in Riyadh and elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabian state television also acknowledged attacks in one city on water tanks that damaged cars and houses. Another attack targeted an electrical substation in southwestern Saudi Arabia close to the border with Yemen, state television said.
The North Jeddah plant stores diesel, gasoline and jet fuel for use in Jeddah, the kingdom’s second largest city. It accounts for more than a quarter of Saudi Arabia’s shipments and also supplies the fuel needed to run the regional desalination plant.
The Houthis twice launched cruise missile attacks on a factory in North Jeddah. One attack occurred in November 2020. The latter happened on Sunday as part of a wider Houthi shelling.
A 500,000-bbl target tank contained diesel fuel at the time of the 2020 attack, according to a recent report by a UN panel of experts studying the war in Yemen. It cost Aramco about $1.5 million to repair after the last attack.
UN experts described the site as a “civilian target” that the Houthis should have avoided after the 2020 attack.
“While the facility also supplies oil products to the Saudi military, it mainly supplies civilian consumers,” the statement said. “If the plant were not in operation for a significant period of time, the impact on the economy of the kingdom, as well as the welfare of the inhabitants of the western region, would probably be significant.”
Cruise missiles and drones remain difficult to defend against, although the US recently sent a significant number of Patriot anti-missile interceptors to Saudi Arabia to resupply the kingdom during Houthi attacks.
In September, the AP reported that the US had removed its own Patriot and THAAD defense systems from Prince Sultan Air Base outside Riyadh.
The attacks have again raised questions about the kingdom’s ability to defend itself against Houthi fire as years of war rage on in the Arab world’s poorest country with no end in sight. It also came after Saudi Arabia issued an unusually strong warning that it could not guarantee that its oil production would not be harmed by further attacks, which could push global energy prices even higher amid Russia’s war with Ukraine. .
Estimated Brent oil prices rose briefly above $120 a barrel in trading on Friday.
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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.