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Saudi Arabia | News & Updates

TsAr

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Small drones fly at low altitude are not detectable by radar. Not the Patriot radar of course. Not to mention they are not Patriot stationed around the oil facilities in that location. It could be identified by patriot radars that are located outside of the firing range. Skyguard radars have been stationed In Makkah and in Abha city. The drones bypassed Kuwait air space without getting identified neither by the US radars (located in Kuwait) nor by the Kuwaiti air defense radars. Few shepherd men captured the moment, video circulating over the internet.

Here is an update:

SAAB AWACS headed north as we speak.

View attachment 9941
That is why even in this modern era human monitoring post are required along with sophisticated radars. Can you share link for the video
 

Scorpion

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That is why even in this modern era human monitoring post are required along with sophisticated radars. Can you share link for the video

Saudi Arabia bought a couple of those but have not been deployed yet.

Tethered Aerostat Radar System

Click to enlarge.

20556654.jpg





Here is another video capturing the second uav flying at low altitude as he described it (small and close to the ground)



I was talking about the UAVs being launched from Iraq and here is Baghdad Post twitter account confirming what I said.


and it reads

Breaking: drones bombed Saudi Arabia flew from Basra.
 

Mangus Ortus Novem

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Saudi Arabia bought a couple of those but have not been deployed yet.

Tethered Aerostat Radar System

Click to enlarge.

View attachment 9942





Here is another video capturing the second uav flying at low altitude as he described it (small and close to the ground)



I was talking about the UAVs being launched from Iraq and here is Baghdad Post twitter account confirming what I said.


and it reads

Breaking: drones bombed Saudi Arabia flew from Basra.



This has been going on for sometime now... this slow escalation from all sides... KSA is being bogged down slowly... with cheap weapons and costing billions to Kingdom to protect/retaliate.

This is a different type of war... a kind of Hybridwar to keep the pressure and keeping the master of these vassals safe. In Pakistan we have suffered from this a lot.

I believe it is high time that KSA revisits its counter-strategy and develop HybridSolutions @Khafee

Furthermore, this is basically a NarrativeWar and KSA has a slow start to counter the daily negative propaganda. If you do the calucations of these homemade drones and the damage these little flying bombs do.... and the visiual images... spread on the world screens/web...

I do believe that KSA can learn a lot from Pak experience in this regard. A couple of days ago KSA army advisor to MBS was in Pindi... one hopes that there be a collective strategy of fighting back this terror menance.
 

IbnAbdullah

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The Saudis can keep fighting these proxies of Iran for a thousand years and it won't hurt Iran much. It will, however, exhaust KSA.

The Saudis have to either be able to hurt the Iranians as directly as they hurting Saudis now via proxies or change the game altogether.

This war strategy is not helping the Saudis gain anything substantive so lobg their enemies are hiding behind proxies.

I can't imagine a more direct attack on KSA than attacking it's oil fields. The Saudis know who is behind this - no amount of bombing will hurt the real planers of these attacks. I wonder how the Saudis intend to fight this fight now that things have escalated to this level.

Tough decisions ahead for Saudis.
 

IbnAbdullah

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This seems to be originated from Iraq. Shia terror militants are doing it on behalf of the Mullah. They think they can disturb oil supplies or it would create a regional conflict to ease pressure on Iran they are wrong. Saudi Aramco stores about two years of supply inside and outside of the country to keep the oil market stable.

If these attacks on Saudi oil fields continue, what options do the Saudis have?
 

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Salaam

The Saudis can keep fighting these proxies of Iran for a thousand years and it won't hurt Iran much. It will, however, exhaust KSA.

The Saudis have to either be able to hurt the Iranians as directly as they hurting Saudis now via proxies or change the game altogether.

This war strategy is not helping the Saudis gain anything substantive so lobg their enemies are hiding behind proxies.

I can't imagine a more direct attack on KSA than attacking it's oil fields. The Saudis know who is behind this - no amount of bombing will hurt the real planers of these attacks. I wonder how the Saudis intend to fight this fight now that things have escalated to this level.

Tough decisions ahead for Saudis.

Countering Iran needs to be done by an international coalition. The Saudis are fighting in Yemen now and I do not think shifting east will be a good idea. Iran is heavily sanctioned, it's normal for them to act crazy. I think exercising calmness is the call of the hour now. Aramco has all the means to deal with the damage happened in a blink of an eye for now but Saudi Arabia needs to get some SHORAD deployed around vital areas.
 

TsAr

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Drone strikes set Saudi oil facilities ablaze

Saudi Arabia oil facilities ablaze after drone strikes
  • 11 minutes ago



Media captionAbqaiq is the site of Aramco's largest oil processing plant
Drone attacks have set alight two major oil facilities run by the state-owned company Aramco in Saudi Arabia, state media say.
Footage showed a huge blaze at Abqaiq, site of Aramco's largest oil processing plant, while a second drone attack started fires in the Khurais oilfield.
The fires are now under control at both facilities, state media said.
A spokesman for the Iran-aligned Houthi group in Yemen said it had deployed 10 drones in the attacks.
The military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, told al-Masirah TV, which is owned by the Houthi movement and is based in Beirut, that further attacks could be expected in the future.
He said Saturday's attack was one of the biggest operations the Houthi forces had undertaken inside Saudi Arabia and was carried out in "co-operation with the honourable people inside the kingdom".
Saudi officials have not yet commented on who they think is behind the attacks.
"At 04:00 (01:00 GMT), the industrial security teams of Aramco started dealing with fires at two of its facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais as a result of... drones," the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
"The two fires have been controlled."
Map

There have been no details on the damage but Agence France-Presse quoted interior ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki as saying there were no casualties.
Abqaiq is about 60km (37 miles) south-west of Dhahran in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, while Khurais, some 200km further south-west, has the country's second largest oilfield.
Saudi security forces foiled an attempt by al-Qaeda to attack the Abqaiq facility with suicide bombers in 2006.
An attack method open to all
Jonathan Marcus, BBC defence and diplomatic correspondent
This latest attack underlines the strategic threat posed by the Houthis to Saudi Arabia's oil installations.
The growing sophistication of the Houthis' drone operations is bound to renew the debate as to where this capability comes from. Have the Houthis simply weaponised commercial civilian drones or have they had significant assistance from Iran?
The Trump administration is likely to point the finger squarely at Tehran, but experts vary in the extent to which they think Iran is facilitating the drone campaign.
The Saudi Air Force has been pummelling targets in Yemen for years. Now the Houthis have a capable, if much more limited, ability to strike back. It shows that the era of armed drone operations being restricted to a handful of major nations is now over.
Drone technology - albeit of varying degrees of sophistication - is available to all; from the US to China, Israel and Iran... and from the Houthis to Hezbolllah.
Markets await news from key facilities
Analysis by BBC business correspondent Katie Prescott
Aramco ranks as the world's largest oil business and these facilities are significant.
The Khurais oilfield produces about 1% of the world's oil and Abqaiq is the company's largest facility - with the capacity to process 7% of the global supply. Even a brief or partial disruption could affect the company, and the oil supply, given their size.
But whether this will have an impact on the oil price come Monday will depend on just how extensive the damage is. Markets now have the weekend to digest information from Aramco and assess the long-term impact.
According to Richard Mallinson, geopolitical analyst at Energy Aspects, any reaction on Monday morning is likely to be muted, as markets are less worried about supply than demand at the moment, due to slower global economic growth and the ongoing trade war between the US and China.
However, there are concerns that escalating tensions in the region could pose a broader risk, potentially threatening the fifth of the world's oil supply that goes through the critical Strait of Hormuz.
Who are the Houthis?
The Iran-aligned Houthi rebel movement has been fighting the Yemeni government and a Saudi-led coalition.
Yemen has been at war since 2015, when President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi was forced to flee the capital Sanaa by the Houthis. Saudi Arabia backs President Hadi, and has led a coalition of regional countries against the rebels.
The coalition launches air strikes almost every day, while the Houthis often fire missiles into Saudi Arabia.
Mr Sarea, the Houthi group's military spokesman, told al-Masirah that operations against Saudi targets would "only grow wider and will be more painful than before, so long as their aggression and blockade continues".
Saudi-led coalition air strike on Dhamar in Yemen, 1 Sept
Image copyrightEPAImage captionSaudi-led coalition air strikes regularly target Houthis in Yemen
Houthi fighters were blamed for drone attacks on the Shaybah natural gas liquefaction facility last month and on other oil facilities in May.
There have been other sources of tension in the region, often stemming from the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Saudi Arabia and the US both blamed Iran for attacks in the Gulf on two oil tankers in June and July, allegations Tehran denied.
In May, four tankers, two of them Saudi-flagged, were damaged by explosions within the UAE's territorial waters in the Gulf of Oman.
Saudi Arabia and then US National Security Adviser John Bolton blamed Iran. Tehran said the accusations were "ridiculous".
Tension in the vital shipping lanes worsened when Iran shot down a US surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz in June, leading a month later to the Pentagon announcing the deployment of US troops to Saudi Arabia.
 

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Yemen Ansarullah movement, Launches Major Drone Attack on, major Saudi Aramco oil-processing facility Abqaiq Eastern Province, blasts.


Major Saudi Arabia oil facilities hit by Houthi drone strikes


 

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For a group of rag tag fighters they sure have a robust missile program going on. They can design/produce drones/cruise missiles with hundreds of KM rage and accuracy.

Please refer to

These attacks have disrupted about 5million barrel production - the cost to the Saudi state would bein the billions (the delays and such). What is stopping any more of these surprisingly advanced missiles being used?

What options do the Saudis have?

It is also very interesting that Pompeo has claimed these did not come from Yemen. He blames Iran directly. He termed it as an unprecedented attack on the world's energy supply, by Iran.
 

TsAr

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For a group of rag tag fighters they sure have a robust missile program going on. They can design/produce drones/cruise missiles with hundreds of KM rage and accuracy.



These attacks have disrupted about 5million barrel production - the cost to the Saudi state would bein the billions (the delays and such). What is stopping any more of these surprisingly advanced missiles being used?

What options do the Saudis have?

It is also very interesting that Pompeo has claimed these did not come from Yemen. He blames Iran directly. He termed it as an unprecedented attack on the world's energy supply, by Iran.
They are not producing or manufacturing it, they are getting them for free from Iran with free of cost training
 

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Hothis just cannot do that ...……. Simple...…. that attack on Aramco very well planed and executed...….
On air defence time for KSA to have 35mm AAA Guns and some Pantiser-I from Russia ...…. Buy and build them in numbers and protect all oil fields and important installations ...…
 

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I have worked in Abqaiq plant, as well.
It makes me very sad to learn about this mishap.
Sabotage, mischief, is condemned in Islamic and credit of it goes to Iran.
It's about time for Saudis to announce, ''are you with us or against us'', and next need not explanation.
 

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ABC News: Iran fired cruise missiles in attack on Saudi oil facility: Senior U.S. official
 

TsAr

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US says data shows Iran behind Saudi oil attacks

Saudi oil attacks: US says intelligence shows Iran involved



US government's satellite images showing apparent damage to Saudi facilities
The United States has issued satellite images and cited intelligence to back its allegation Iran was behind attacks on major Saudi oil facilities.

Iran denies involvement in Saturday's air attacks, which were claimed by Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen.

But unnamed US officials speaking to US and international media say the direction and extent of the attacks cast doubt on Houthi involvement.

The incident has cut global oil supplies by 5% and prices have soared.

What is the US saying?
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed Iran at the weekend, without providing any evidence, prompting Tehran to accuse Washington of deceit.

Tweeting on Sunday, President Donald Trump stopped short of directly accusing Iran, but suggested possible military action once the perpetrator was known.


Image Copyright @realDonaldTrump @realDonaldTrump

Report

Unnamed US officials have been speaking to the New York Times, ABC and Reuters.

One official said there were 19 points of impact on the targets and the attacks had come from a west-north-west direction - not Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen, which lies to the south-west of the Saudi oil facilities.


The officials said that could suggest launch sites in the northern Gulf, Iran or Iraq.

A close-up image of damaged tanks at the Abqaiq processing plant (included above) appeared to show impact points on the western side.

Other images seem to show damage at the Khurais oilfield, which is located further west.

Image copyright US goverment / Digital Globe
Iraq denied at the weekend that the attacks were launched from its territory. Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said Mr Pompeo had assured him in a phone call on Monday that the US backed Iraq's position.

ABC quoted a senior US official as saying Mr Trump was fully aware that Iran was responsible.

China and the European Union have, separately, urged restraint.

In the UK, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said it was not yet clear who was responsible for what he described as a "wanton violation of international law".

What are the oil markets doing?
The oil price has seen the biggest one-day rise since the 1991 Gulf War, rising 20% but falling back later.

The international benchmark used by traders, Brent crude, jumped to $71.95 (£57.53) a barrel at one point.






Media captionAbqaiq has the world's largest oil processing plant
Prices eased after President Trump authorised the release of US reserves.

But there are concerns that higher prices could continue if tensions worsen further.

US Energy Secretary Rick Perry, blaming Iran, said on Monday the oil market was "resilient and will respond positively".

How has Iran reacted?
Iran has yet to respond to the latest US assertions.

But Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted on Sunday to deride Mr Pompeo, saying that "having failed at max pressure, Sec Pompeo's turning to max deceit".

He was referring to the Trump administration's stated "maximum pressure campaign" which has targeted Iran with sanctions since Washington pulled out of an international agreement to limit the scope of Iran's nuclear programme.

How did Saturday's attacks unfold?
The attacks targeted Abqaiq, the site of the largest oil processing plant run by the Saudi state oil company, Aramco, and the Khurais oilfield.

Khurais is the closest of the targets to the Yemen border - still a considerable 770km (480 miles) away.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Smoke billowing from the oil facility in Abqaiq
Saudi Arabia said drones had carried out the attacks, which began at 04:00 (01:00 GMT) and sent huge clouds of thick, black smoke into the air.

The Houthi movement said its forces had sent 10 drones towards the facilities and have since warned of further attacks.

There were no reports of injuries, but the extent of the damage to the facilities is still not entirely clear.

Why might the Houthis have attacked Saudi Arabia?
The Houthis have repeatedly launched rockets, missiles and drones at populated areas in Saudi Arabia. The attacks have left at least four civilians dead.

The Yemen conflict escalated in March 2015, when the Houthis seized control of much of the west of the country and forced President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi to flee abroad.

Alarmed by the rise of a group they believed to be backed militarily by regional Shia Muslim power Iran, Saudi Arabia and eight other mostly Sunni Muslim Arab states began an air campaign aimed at restoring Mr Hadi's government.


The UN says the conflict has claimed the lives of at least 7,290 civilians and left 80% of the population - 24 million people - in need of humanitarian assistance or protection, including 10 million who rely on food aid to survive.
 
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