DEAR FRIENDS. IF YOU LIKE THIS TYPE OF CONTENT, SUPPORT SOUTHFRONT WORK:
PayPal: southfront@internet.ru
Donation alerts: https://donationalerts.com/r/southfront
Gumroad: https://gumroad.com/southfront
Or via: http://southfront.org/donate/ or via: https://www.patreon.com/southfront,
BTC: 3Gbs4rjcVUtQd8p3CiFUCxPLZwRqurezRZ,
BCH ABC: qpf2cphc5dkuclkqur7lhj2yuqq9pk3hmukle77vhq,
ETH: 0x9f4cda013e354b8fc285bf4b9a60460cee7f7ea9
On May 14, Saudi Arabia halted pumping on its 1,200km-long East-West pipeline after it had been targeted by suicide unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The kingdom’s Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid al-Falih confirmed the attack on the pipeline, which carries crude oil from the country’s main eastern oil fields to the Red Sea port city of Yanbu in the western part of the country. He described the attack as “an act of terrorism” and said that it “proves the importance of confronting all terrorist organizations.”
The targeted facilities were located in the towns of al-Duwadimi and Afif. No casualties were reported.
The energy minister stressed that Saudi oil production and exports will still continue uninterrupted. Despite this, global oil prices rose after the incident.
On the same day, Yemen’s Masirah TV, loyal to the Ansar Allah movement [also known as the Houthis], reported that seven drones had been employed against vital Saudi installations. According to the report, the drone strikes were carried out in response to Saudi Arabia’s military aggression against Yemen. The TV station quoted an official from the Ansar Allah government, who said that Yemeni forces are ready “to execute more of these significant and tough strikes as long as the siege continues.”
The US, Israel and Saudi Arabia blame any operations carried out by Ansar Allah against Saudi Arabia on Iran.
Another situation, which fueled concerns over oil supply disruptions and nearing conflict between the US-led bloc and Iran, is developing over the reported “sabotage attack” on four commercial vessels off the UAE’s Fujairah on May 12. Initially, the UAE denounced reports about this situation, but then was forced to admit that some kind of “sabotage” incident took place. The targeted vessels were identified as very large crude carrier (VLCC) tanker Amjad and crude tanker Al Marzoqah, both owned by Saudi shipping firm Bahri. The other two were UAE-flagged fuel bunker barge A Michel and Norwegian-registered oil products tanker MT AndreA Victory.
Thome Ship Management said its Norwegian-registered oil products tanker MT Andrew Victory was “struck by an unknown object”. Jaber Al Lamki, an executive director at the UAE’s National Media Council, claimed that the attack was “aimed at undermining global oil supplies and maritime security.”
Despite the lack of clear evidence, Western mainstream media outlets as well as many pro-UAE and pro-Saudi sources immediately blamed Iran. In turn, Teheran distanced itself from the attacks and claimed it was a false flag. Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said that the country expected such “suspicious sabotage acts” designed to “create tensions in the region”.
In the meantime, the US deployed the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and the USS Arlington amphibious transport dock, which carries marines, amphibious vehicles, and rotary aircraft, as well as the Patriot missiles, near the Persian Gulf. An additional strategic bomber task force arrived at the US airbase Al Udeid in Qatar. In all cases, the US cited the growing Iranian threat and possible Iranian attacks on US forces and infrastructure as the reason for the deployment.
At the same time, reports are surfacing that the US is actively drawing up plans for a military action against Iran. While Trump denounced NYT reports on the plan to deploy 120,000 troops to the Middle East, his administration repeatedly confirmed that it is ready for active measures in the event of the escalation or even in the event of Iran’s withdrawal from its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal accord. The irony is that the US itself has done more that any side to destroy this deal thus de-facto pushing the region toward the new crisis.
Saudi Arabia can best be warned, “He who lives in glass houses: should not cast stones.”
Russia must love any reason to increase the price of oil and would more than likely encourage such .
Yeah that’s why they attacked Iran and Venezuela.
They like Russia are shittholes and Russia needs anything it can get . friends in particular .
Honey money take your usual Israeli dosage of narcorics and everything will be just okay.
I heard that Canadians are the rejects that the USA didn’t want and deported them. Bwahahaha
higher oil prices benifit canada as well fucking inbred morron
That’s the way aha aha I like it
If the war goes ahead, everyone will be speaking Farsi in Saudi Arabia within a decade. . .
And not one Russian speaker , huh I like that .
Simmer down, they can do that too, lol…y not
Its just fukked over there and they have been killing each other for thousands of years it will never end .
Trump is betraying America for Israel.
the attack on the pipeline does prove to the Saudis that its invasion of Yemen will continue to have consequences.
What’s up with this, SF? Did Fat Bastard Pompeo report me as a spammer again, or is the Hasbara overnight shift back to this ‘tactic’?
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8d66687912200c82cd44094ab7901bc3fb9dd562c11029b89505a8c5fc8f2275.png
Fujairah is maybe 15 seconds flight time for a missile across the Gulf of Oman. Iran could have leveled the entire port if they intended to ‘disrupt oil transport’ or send the UAE a message. For that matter, there’s no way Saudi Arabia could possibly protect Ras Tanura or any other oil facility on the Persian Gulf – with or without American help.
Maybe the MIGA brain trust in Washington DC is really trying to get Iran to destroy Saudi oil facilities on the Persian Gulf. We got a lot of shale oil that’s too expensive to suck out of the ground today. ‘Removing’ 10 million barrels a day of Saudi crude would do wonders for oil prices and make our shale oil economical to produce. We would need the cash, too. It’s not like Israel is going to pay us for a prolonged, expensive and ultimately lost war with Iran. Bibi just gives Jared the orders, someone else picks up the tab.
https://goo.gl/maps/VdySLU87QfcQ1WSEA