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Saudi Arabia is running low on missile interceptors and has asked France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt for air-defense assistance as the Houthis intensify attacks against the kingdom, according to two regional officials cited by The Associated Press on September 16.
The requests come after a series of attacks on Saudi territory and critical infrastructure during the past two weeks, adding pressure on a kingdom already dealing with disruptions to its oil export routes.
The United States, Saudi Arabia’s main arms supplier, is also facing shortages of missile interceptors after months of fighting with Iran.
The escalation intensified on September 8, when the Houthis launched a large missile and drone attack against southern Saudi Arabia. The attacks targeted areas including Jazan, Abha, Najran and Khamis Mushait, where Saudi authorities reported 73 people wounded and fires at oil facilities and utilities. The Houthis said they had targeted oil and military infrastructure.
Two days later, Saudi Arabia suffered another major blow to its oil infrastructure, although that attack was not attributed to the Houthis. Drones struck the East-West Pipeline, which carries Saudi crude from the Gulf toward the Red Sea port of Yanbu. Saudi Arabia blamed Iranian-backed militias operating from Iraq.
The Houthis continued attacking Saudi Arabia as they expanded their gains along Yemen’s Red Sea coast. By September 13, Saudi authorities were reporting incoming fire around Abha and Khamis Mushait, while the Houthis claimed missile and drone attacks against Saudi military positions.
The latest and most politically sensitive incident came on September 16, when Saudi Arabia said it intercepted a Houthi drone near Mecca. The Houthis denied targeting the holy city. Saudi Arabia declared Mecca a “red line” as condemnation spread across the region.
The attacks are occurring alongside the loss of Saudi-controlled routes for moving oil. The Houthis have seized territory and islands around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, while fighting and attacks in the Red Sea have complicated shipping.
The East-West Pipeline shutdown has further reduced Saudi Arabia’s alternatives for moving crude to international markets.
Despite the Saudi requests for assistance, AP’s latest report revealed that no country had announced military support for the kingdom.
Britain confirmed its defense partnership with Riyadh but did not say whether it would deploy forces, while officials from Turkey and Pakistan said they had not received requests for military assistance. Washington has so far limited its role to intelligence sharing and planning support.
One of the regional officials who spoke to AP said Saudi Arabia is in a “very difficult position,” since it has to protect not only its military bases and vital government installations, but also oil facilities across the kingdom.
The second official said Saudi Arabia is also seeking to rally its international allies to launch a collective response against the Houthis. “But the decision now is to give diplomacy a chance,” the official said, adding that Oman and Egypt are leading efforts for de-escalation in Yemen.
All in all, Saudi Arabia’s military situation appears to be worsening, and support is clearly not arriving any time soon. In the face of this escalation, the kingdom’s best bet may be a diplomatic solution with the Houthis, which will likely include major concessions, such as ending the siege of Yemen.
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with the eight largest military budget and they still can’t fight for shit, plus being reliant on the us for air defence missiles shows how inept the saudis are.
shady wahabia is f….d! next stop tel aviv. heheheheh
british forces? ok, what’s the punch line? the mecca -drone thing…yeah, frame ansar allah for that. probably israel or u.s. yeah, an attack on mecca would warm things up. why would anyone believe the saudis?
probably another mi6 production.
when the saudi sand mon keys run out of interceptors sometime around christmas, their regime will be kaput, so will jordan and ukraine.
iran and russia will deliver lots of fireworks to their respective foes.
get your popcorn this is gonna get interesting
the globalist created saudi arabia is expendable. cutting energy from china was always the mission. there is no forensic proof of who launched the missiles that stuck the three pumping stations. only hollywood descriptions.
it only means no energy for europe. china has partnership with russia and usa has stolen venuzuela.
stop sf please ! it’s too much good news for a week….
note that “houthis” is a tribe while ansar-allah is the movement.
the ansarallah should liberate the lands the british bastards gave to the corrupt wahabbi pimps of arabia. the saudis are absolute scum.