Houthi rebels launch widespread attacks against Saudi oil facilities.

 

Fires burn in the city of Sanaa, Yemen after the Saudis counterattacked. Reuters.

Houthi rebels in Yemen have launched widespread attacks against Saudi Arabian oil facilities. Reuters. The Houthis launched ballistic missiles and drones against targets in Ras Tanruna, where the world's largest oil facility is located, as well as the cities of Damman, Asir and Jazan. The Saudis claimed that they shot down the Houthi drones and the damage from the ballistic missiles was minimal. The Houthis claim the attack consisted of eight ballistic missiles and used 14 drones in the attack. The Saudis bombed targets in Yemen in response to the attacks. The Houthis have become more bold after Joe Biden removed the terrorist label from them, which had been placed by President Trump. 

My Comment:

Ugh, as if gas prices weren't high enough already. Joe Biden has already done a ton to destroy American energy independence. I get the feeling a lot of people never even realized that America WAS energy independent under President Trump. But thanks to Biden we are now dependent on foreign oil again, and that means attacks like these will cause an increase in prices. 

This will remain the case even though it appears that these attacks did little damage. Unlike the 2019 attack that devastated Saudi Arabia's oil production, this attack seems to have been largely prevented with the drones being shot down. The ballistic missiles did some damage but did not destroy much. The problem is that the instability will spook the markets and cause the price of oil and gasoline to go up. 

I do have to say that if the Saudis are right and they shot down all the drones it is a major improvement. The Saudis had major problems with that in 2019. My guess is that they now knew the tactic and developed countermeasures against it. My guess is that they were able to detect these drones and shoot them down, either with ground to air missiles or intercepted them with airplanes. 

It seems pretty clear that the Iranians are off the leash now and are taking advantage of American weakness. Joe Biden has made it very clear that he supports Iran over the Saudis even though the Iranians are targeting US targets in Iraq along with their proxies in Yemen attacking Saudi Arabia. They know that there will be no consequences for their actions and that the Biden administration hates the gulf states. 

With the go ahead from the Biden administration and the Houthis no longer called terrorists it means Iran can continue their proxy war against the Saudis. This will result in higher prices for oil and gas and will continue the massive amount of human suffering in Yemen. 

So will things get worse? I am not sure. It seems clear that the missile and drone strike plan by the Houthis are not as effective as they were a couple of years ago. But the Houthis have state backing and may come up with new plans to hit Saudi Arabia. And it's clear that the Saudis have been left out to dry by the United States. I think things will probably get worse and there is a chance the whole thing turns into open warfare...