Washington sent more interceptor missiles to Saudi Arabia after Saudi officials warned the United States that its defense reserves were running low.
According to Pak Sahafat News Agency International group, The United States responded positively to Saudi Arabia’s request for help after the Yemeni army launched a massive missile and drone strike on a Saudi strategic facility following the Saudi coalition’s invasion of Yemen.
According to a report (Monday) by the American newspaper “Wall Street Journal”, Senior U.S. officials say the administration of President Joe Biden delivered a significant number of Patriot interceptor missiles to Saudi Arabia last month, responding positively to Riyadh’s request to sell and re-supply equipment.
The Washington Post went on to say that the move was made in the light of the weakening of relations between the two sides, quoting one of the mentioned officials, adding that the transfer of Patriot missiles was to ensure that Saudi Arabia to repel drone and missile attacks.
Last year, Saudi Arabia requested more missiles from the United States to repel attacks by the Yemeni army. Saudi officials had warned that their missiles were rapidly running out. The US newspaper noted that US-Saudi relations had weakened after the Biden administration decided to remove the names of the Yemeni Houthis from what has been called a terrorist list.
The US officials, who were not named in the report, added that the decision to send Patriot missiles took several months and longer than the order period for other US allies because the White House had deliberately extended the missile delivery time. According to the report, Patriot missiles were transported to Saudi Arabia from one of the US arsenals in the Middle East, and the decision was made to send them in order to establish better relations with Riyadh.
The US newspaper also reported that the US government hopes that Saudi Arabia will enter the energy markets in order to reduce oil prices following the Ukraine crisis.
The report comes as Saudi and Yemeni media reported yesterday morning of a massive drone and missile attack on Saudi Arabia’s vital facilities.
A spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya al-Sari, confirmed the news Sunday morning, stressing that attacks on the Saudi coalition’s strategic facilities would continue as long as the Saudi coalition continues its aggression against Yemen.
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A spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces stating that the operation was aimed at breaking the siege of Yemen, added, in the first phase of the attack, a number of critical facilities of the Saudi Aramco Company in Riyadh, Yanbu and a number of other areas of the country were targeted with several ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and UAVs.
Sari also added that as soon as the first phase of the operation was successful, the country’s forces attacked a number of vital and important targets in Abha, Khamis Moshit, Jizan, Samta, South Dhahran with missiles and UAVs. Sari warned: “The Yemeni Armed Forces – with God’s help – will carry out special military operations to break the brutal siege, which will include critical objectives; “Goals that the criminal enemy has not even thought of.”
The spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces also noted that the Yemeni army has full coordinates in which vital targets have been identified and may be attacked at any moment.
Hours after the announcement of Sanaa, an official from the Saudi Ministry of Energy announced that the production level of one of the country’s refineries had decreased following the attack by the Yemeni army.
Saudi Arabia, at the head of an Arab coalition backed by the United States, has launched a military aggression against Yemen and imposed a land, air and sea blockade on April 26, 2015, claiming that it was trying to bring the resigned Yemeni president back to power.
The military aggression did not achieve any of the goals of the Saudi coalition and was only accompanied by the killing and wounding of tens of thousands of Yemenis, the displacement of millions, the destruction of the country’s infrastructure and the spread of famine and infectious diseases.