RIYADH
\nYemen\u2019s Houthis said they launched attacks on Saudi energy facilities on Friday and the Saudi-led coalition said oil giant Aramco\u2019s petroleum products distribution station in Jeddah was hit, causing a fire in two storage tanks but no casualties.
\nA huge plume of black smoke could be seen rising over the Red Sea city where the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is taking place this weekend, an eyewitness said.
\nThe Iran-aligned Houthis have escalated attacks on the kingdom\u2019s oil facilities in recent weeks and ahead of a temporary truce for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
\nThe coalition has repeatedly said it is exercising self-restraint in the face of the attacks, but launched a military operation in Yemen early on Saturday saying it aimed to protect global energy sources and ensure supply chains.
\nA coalition statement on state media on Friday said the fire had been brought under control. Flames could still be seen in live footage aired by Saudi-owned Ekhbariya television channel.
\nThe Saudi energy ministry said the kingdom strongly condemned the \u201csabotage attacks\u201d, reiterating that it would not bear responsibility for any global oil supply disruptions resulting from such attacks, state news agency SPA reported, citing an official in the ministry.
\nThe ministry blamed Iran for continuing to arm the Houthis with ballistic missiles and advanced drones, stressing that the attacks \u201cwould lead to impacting the Kingdom\u2019s production capacity and its ability to fulfil its obligations to global markets\u201d. Teheran denies arming the Houthis.
\nThere was no immediate comment from Aramco.
\nThe coalition said its Saturday airstrikes targeted \u201csources of threat\u201d in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa and the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.
\nThe attacks came as Jeddah was hosting the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The dense black smoke could be seen from the race circuit, a Reuters witness said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
RIYADH Yemen\u2019s Houthis said they launched attacks on Saudi energy facilities on Friday and the Saudi-led coalition said oil giant Aramco\u2019s petroleum products distribution station in Jeddah was hit, causing a fire in two storage tanks but no casualties. A huge plume of black smoke could be seen rising over the Red Sea city where […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-251545","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n