• Attacks with drones against two oil plants in Saudi Arabia
  • Yemen. Houthi welcome UN appeal: 'Stop attacks against Saudi Arabia and the Emirates'

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by Tiziana Di Giovannandrea September 14, 2019The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, received a phone call from US president Donald Trump after attacks on two Saudi oil facilities set up by Yemenite rebels Houthi. The news was announced by the official news agency of Riad, Spa.

During the telephone conversation, Donald Trump pointed out that the attacks on oil refineries have "negative effects" on the economy of the two countries and on the international one. The White House leader, according to the agency, nonetheless reaffirmed his country's willingness to cooperate with the Saudi Kingdom, to ensure its security and stability.

For his part, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has confirmed to Trump the will and strength of the Kingdom to counter terrorist attacks and face the consequences by asserting that Saudi Arabia "wants and is able to cope with this terrorist aggression ", according to a statement released by the Saudi embassy in Washington.

The attack on Saudi oil facilities, claimed by the Yemenite rebels, is the third offensive of the Shiite rebels in Yemen in 5 months. Houthi drones exploded on the largest plant in the world. Two sites were hit in the East: one in Buqyaq, run by Saudi Aramco, capable of working 7 million barrels a day and another refinery in Khurais. 10 unmanned aircraft in action. Attacks like today's one according to BBC News indicate that the Houthi have developed considerable technological expertise on drones. The Houthi rebels are a Shiite militia backed by Iran. Since 2015, Iran in Yemen has been fighting a civil war against local government forces, which is being supported by Saudi Arabia. According to the Wall Street Journal, daily production was halved with a loss of about five million barrels. The Kingdom produces 9.8 million.

Mike Pompeo , US Secretary of State, blames Iran for its attacks on Saudi oil facilities: "Tehran is behind almost 100 attacks on Saudi Arabia while Rohani and Zarif pretend to engage in diplomacy" writes on Twitter the US Secretary of State. "Among all the de-escalation requests - he adds - Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world's energy supply. There is no evidence that the attacks came from Yemen." "We call on all nations to publicly and unequivocally condemn Iran's attacks - continued Pompeo -. The United States will work with our partners and allies to ensure that energy markets remain well supplied and Iran is deemed responsible for his aggression ".