Saudi Arabia announced that it intercepted drone attacks targeting major oil facilities and identified Iraqi militias backed by Iran as the perpetrators.

Meanwhile, Yemen's Houthi rebels also claimed responsibility for the attack, and amid unclear attribution, tensions over Middle East energy infrastructure are rising again.

According to the Wall Street Journal on the 27th (local time), the Saudi government announced in a statement that it intercepted multiple drones believed to have been launched from Iraqi territory.

It subsequently demanded that the Iraqi government take all necessary measures to ensure that its territory is not used as a launching point for attacks on allied nations.

▲ Confusion Over Attack Attribution...Iraqi Militias and Houthis Both Mentioned

The perpetrator of this attack has yet to be clearly confirmed.

Pro-Iran militias within Iraq have not officially acknowledged the attack, but Yemen's pro-Iran armed group, the Houthi rebels, claimed that they attacked Saudi oil facilities.

The Houthis stated that they carried out the attack in retaliation for Saudi military drones violating Yemeni airspace.

As a result, additional investigation is needed to determine which organization actually carried out the attack, or whether multiple forces were involved simultaneously.

▲ Iraqi Government: "Cannot Tolerate Misuse of Territory"

The Iraqi government moved to contain the situation.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered security forces to conduct an immediate investigation and stated that Iraq would not allow its territory to be used as a passage or launching base for attacks on friendly nations.

However, pro-Iran militias often do not fall under direct control of the Iraqi central government, and the government's limited control capacity has been continuously pointed out as a source of instability.

▲ Drone Attacks Surge Following Iran War

Saudi Arabia reports that drone attacks by pro-Iran armed groups have significantly increased since the United States and Israel began military operations against Iran in February.

According to Saudi internal assessments, of the approximately 1,000 drone attacks that have occurred to date, up to half are estimated to have been launched from Iraqi territory.

Prior to this attack, the Yanbu refinery on the Red Sea coast and Saudi's eastern oil fields have reportedly been repeatedly targeted.

Saudi Arabia, in response, is reportedly conducting retaliatory airstrikes targeting pro-Iran militias within Iraq.

▲ World's Largest Oil Facility Sustains Minor Damage

According to Gulf region officials, the attack caused minor damage to part of the Abqaiq petroleum facility, the world's largest crude oil processing facility.

The Abqaiq facility is the world's largest crude oil stabilization facility processing approximately 7 million barrels of crude per day and plays a crucial role in the global crude oil supply chain.

The European Union's Sentinel-2 satellite also detected gas flaring at the facility.

However, the Saudi government did not confirm in its official statement that Abqaiq was a target of the attack.

[AFP/언합뉴스 제공]

▲ Alternative Export Routes via Hormuz Also Threatened

The Houthi rebels have recently escalated pressure to target even Saudi Arabia's alternative oil export routes.

Following the war with Iran, navigation through the Strait of Hormuz has become virtually blocked, and Saudi Arabia has been exporting crude oil through pipelines connecting eastern oil fields to the Red Sea coast.

Tankers departing from Red Sea ports pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait toward the Indian Ocean and Asian markets.

However, the Houthis have recently declared a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia and have carried out repeated attacks targeting Saudi vessels.

As a result, some crude oil has reportedly had to use longer alternative routes bypassing Africa via the Suez Canal.

▲ Concerns Over Increased International Oil Price Volatility

This drone attack is evaluated as an example showing that instability in Middle Eastern crude oil supply chains remains unresolved.

In particular, Abqaiq was attacked by Houthi drones in 2019, when Saudi crude oil production temporarily decreased by nearly half.

Markets are monitoring the possibility that if major oil-producing countries' energy infrastructure continues to face repeated attacks, international oil price volatility could expand again, even if the damage from this attack remains limited.

Amid ongoing military tensions between Saudi Arabia and pro-Iran armed groups, geopolitical risks surrounding Middle Eastern crude oil supply chains are expected to persist for the foreseeable future.