Yemen’s Houthi rebels attack Saudi oil facilities, escalating tensions in gulf

Yemen’s Houthi rebels carried out multiple drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities Tuesday, a day after Saudi Arabia said two of its oil tankers had been damaged in an act of sabotage, ratcheting up tensions in the region.

A Houthi spokesman, Mohammed Abdul Salam, claimed responsibility for the drone strikes on Twitter, saying that they were a response to Saudi “aggression” and “genocide” in Yemen.

Although the Houthis are backed by Iran, it was unclear whether the attacks were related to increasing tensions between Iran and the United States and its allies in the Persian Gulf.

A total of four oil tankers were damaged off the coast of the United Arab Emirates on Sunday in what the Emirati government called acts of sabotage. Though little hard information has emerged about the attacks, US and Gulf suspicions have centred on Iran, in an area already jittery about the prospect of a violent clash with the republic.

The Trump administration has warned of planned aggression by Iran or its proxies, though it has not elaborated on that contention, and it has deployed military forces to the region.

But both sides said Tuesday that they were not looking for a war, even as the threats and counter-threats continued.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in comments carried on state television that “no war is going to happen,” The Associated Press reported.

“Neither we, nor they are seeking war,” he said. “They know that it is not to their benefit.”

And in a visit to Russia on Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, “We fundamentally do not seek a war with Iran.”

But the Trump administration has not ruled out further increasing the US military presence in the region.

US officials said they suspected that Iran was involved but that there was no definitive evidence linking Iran or its proxies to the attacks.

Iran suggested Tuesday that the tanker attacks were a provocation intended to escalate tensions.

The Saudi energy minister, Khalid al-Falih, said the attacks on two pumping stations had caused “limited damage.” He said the government was shutting down a pipeline while it assessed the damage and made repairs.