France will protect a key Saudi Arabian oil terminal, French President Emmanuel Macron said.
France would send “military means” to help protect the key port of Yanbu following attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militia, Macron told broadcasters TF1 and France 2.
“We are going to send military assets, meaning soldiers, radars, and defence systems to protect this site,” he said.
“Not to involve ourselves in any conflict, but to protect the site.”
Yanbu is home to major oil storage and refining facilities and the strategically important East-West Pipeline.
The pipeline, which measures more than 1,200 kilometres and has a capacity of up to 7 million barrels per day, was shut as a precaution earlier this month following attacks on it. It was also reportedly targeted in late July by Iranian-aligned groups operating from Iraq.
It has taken on even greater importance since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, with Riyadh using the pipeline to reroute oil that would otherwise have been destined for tankers to carry it through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iran-backed Houthi militia has ramped up its attacks on its oil-rich neighbour amid a renewed escalation of the war in Yemen.
The Houthis have been fighting Yemen’s Saudi-backed government for more than a decade. A 2022 truce left the conflict largely frozen, but with little prospect of an end to the war. Saudi Arabia supports Yemen’s internationally recognized government in its protracted conflict with the Houthis.
With a production rate of around 10 million barrels a day, Saudi Arabia was the world’s second-largest oil producer after the US before the Iran war.
FILE PHOTO – French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference at Augustusburg Castle. (is associated with: «France to protect key Saudi Arabian oil terminal, Macron says») Oliver Berg/dpa