French President Emmanuel Macron said France will send soldiers, radars and defense systems to protect Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, after attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militia. He said the mission is to safeguard the port, not draw France into the conflict.
Yanbu hosts major oil storage and refining facilities and the East-West Pipeline, which is more than 1,200 kilometres long and can carry up to 7 million barrels a day. The pipeline was shut as a precaution earlier this month after attacks; it was also reportedly targeted in late July by Iran-aligned groups operating from Iraq.
Since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, Saudi Arabia has used the pipeline to reroute oil that otherwise would have travelled by tanker through the Strait of Hormuz. The Iran-backed Houthis have stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia amid renewed escalation in Yemen’s war; a 2022 truce left the conflict largely frozen.
