Saudi Arabia to increase security around its oil facilities

Saudi Arabia will take steps to deter attacks on its oil facilities, its foreign minister said Wednesday after an attack on the heart of industry earlier this week by the Iranian-allied Houthi movement in Yemen. Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said at a press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that Riyadh would continue to work with Moscow on OPEC + to ensure fair oil prices for producers and consumers. Oil prices rose briefly after the rocket and drone attack on the kingdom on Sunday, which also attacked an oil warehouse in Ras Tanura, the site of a refinery and the largest offshore oil loading facility in the world. The Saudi authorities said they thwarted the attack without any death or serious damage. "The kingdom will take the necessary deterrent measures to protect its national capabilities," said the prince. He said international efforts to end the conflict in Yemen, where a Saudi Arabia-led coalition has been fighting the Houthis for six years, should address the issue that "Iran is providing the Houthi militia with advanced weapons including ballistic missiles and armed drones supplied ". Iran has rejected allegations in the past, as has the group that denies being a puppet of Tehran. The United States, under President Joe Biden's administration, has stepped up diplomacy to end the war, but has expressed concern over "real security threats" to Saudi Arabia following Sunday's attacks. Prince Faisal said the top priority remains a permanent ceasefire agreement for Yemen, which has proven elusive despite the UN's peace efforts and talks between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis who control northern Yemen. Saudi Arabia leads a military coalition that intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthis ousted the Saudi-backed government in the capital, Sanaa.