Houthi rebels launch attacks on Saudi infrastructure, no casualties.

 

Firefighters battle a blaze at an Aramco terminal. Fox News/AP.

Houthi rebels from Yemen have launched another series of attacks against Saudi infrastructure, though did not cause any casualties. Fox News. The attacks targeted Saudi Arabia's oil industry and also targeted desalination plants. The strikes involved ballistic missiles as well as drones. The Saudis say that the strikes did not result in any deaths but civilian vehicles and homes were damaged. It is unclear how much damage has been done but the Saudis claim there will be no disruption in oil supplies. The oil market is already tight due to the war in Ukraine and western sanctions. The war in Yemen has largely devolved into a stalemate with little movement on either side, with peace talks not yet agreed to. 

My Comment:

The war in Yemen needs to end. The suffering of the people there is obviously one reason but at this point the conflict is out of control. The Saudis and the UAE are now getting regularly bombed by ballistic missiles and drones. This isn't just affecting the Yemenis, it's now threatening global oil supplies. 

Oil prices are already out of control with the utter disaster that is Ukraine and the United States simply failing to drill for new wells. The last thing we need is the Saudis and the UAE having their own supplies disrupted by a major Houthi attack. 

The good news is that these attacks have not been very effective. This attack didn't seem to do too much damage, depending on how much you trust the Saudi government to tell the truth. That's understandable since ballistic missiles were designed to deliver nuclear and chemical warheads. They aren't the most accurate things in the world. You would think that the drone strikes would cause more damage though I am guessing the Houthis just aren't that good at using them yet. 

As always, I have to mention that Yemen isn't really about Yemen. It's partially about religion as it's Sunni vs Shia, but that really just translates to the Saudi led Gulf states vs Iran. It does seem that Iran is doing well against the Saudis as they have made zero progress in beating back the Houthis despite seven years of war and a major technological advantage. 

I also have to say that it's fairly hypocritical that the United States is boycotting Russian oil when lining up to buy from the Saudis and even considering buying from the Iranians. Though I do think that Russia can be criticized for launching a war of choice in Ukraine, all the same criticisms could be levied against both Saudi Arabia and Iran due to their actions in Yemen. But nobody is calling on us to stop buying oil from those two countries. 

As for the war itself I don't see it ending anytime soon. The war has reached a stalemate with little movement on either side. And peace talks don't appear to be happening at all. Part of it is that there is no neutral third party to mediate. But given the proxy nature of the conflict I don't see either the Saudis or Iranians backing down anytime soon...