Saudi Arabia: new attack on the East-West pipeline near Medina and missiles toward Riyadh – what the coalition says about the Sanaa facilities

Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, the only major route for exporting Saudi crude from the Red Sea while bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, was attacked again on the morning of Monday, November 9, in the Medina area. A few hours later, overnight into Tuesday, November 10, missiles were fired from Yemen toward Riyadh and the south of the kingdom.

An official of the Saudi Energy Ministry, speaking to the state news agency SPA, described the strike as limited: a “limited fire” was caused and put out, there were no injuries or deaths, and the pipeline continued to operate normally. The Houthis have been systematically hitting Saudi oil infrastructure in recent weeks, and on November 7 had claimed an attack on pumping station No. 8 of the same pipeline, where satellite images of November 8 showed damage.

The pipeline, about 1,200 kilometres long, carries crude from the Gulf’s producing areas to the terminals and refineries of Yanbu. Since Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Aramco has turned much of its exports to it. In September it had been taken out of service for several days when a pumping station was hit by drones that, according to Riyadh, were launched from Iraq.

Three missiles over Riyadh and the south

The spokesman of the Saudi-led coalition, Brigadier General Turki al-Malki, announced in posts on X that air defences destroyed two missiles heading for the capital, one ballistic and one cruise missile, as well as another ballistic missile aimed at the country’s southern region. He blamed the Houthis for the launches. Explosions were heard in Riyadh and residents received a message on their phones to seek shelter because of an “air threat,” and a little later Civil Defence said the danger had passed.

On Sunday, November 8, the Houthis had said they struck Riyadh’s business district, with Saudi authorities attributing damage to floors of the Aramco tower to debris. Earlier on Monday, al-Malki had announced that coalition forces destroyed three Houthi facilities in Sanaa, where, according to him, ballistic missile components, solid fuel and electronic systems were being produced. The operation followed the strikes east of the Yemeni capital, for which the Houthis put the death toll at 44.

For its part, the Houthi-controlled Saba agency spoke of new coalition air raids on Sanaa that hit the al-Mufazir gas station in the Jadar area, north of the city, and a building of the state oil company in the south. Civil defence teams were trying to put out a fire in gas tankers at the station.

The escalation comes as Yemen’s government forces, with coalition air support, try to retake territory from the Houthis, and the Houthis respond with drones and missiles against Saudi refineries, fuel depots and pipelines. Attacks on the East-West line have consequences beyond the kingdom’s borders: as long as Iranian restrictions at Hormuz apply, every interruption in the flow to Yanbu limits crude supply to the markets.