Cruise Missiles Coming From Iran or Iraq Involved in Saudi Oil Facility Attack: Pentagon

Cruise Missiles striking with great precision, rather than drone were involved in Saturday’s Saudi Oil facility attack, the Pentagon said releasing satellite pictures of the strike.

The projectiles attacked storage tanks and processing and compressor trains, the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said. The photo released had storage facilities within the complex encircled as being the spots where the 10 missiles are said to have struck causing huge fires and reducing Riyadh’s oil output by half.

However, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of Yemen's Supreme Political Council, on Sunday told Iran's Tasnim news agency that blaming the attacks on other countries shows "cowardice" in facing up to the reality of Yemen's military power.

"Saudi Arabia declared war against Yemen on the grounds that our missile inventory posed a threat to its security," he said. "Today, we are surprised to see that when we hit Saudi oil wells, they exonerate Yemen from conducting these strikes and accuse others of doing them."

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo was quick to blame Iran for the brazen attacks, claiming there was no evidence the projectiles originated from Yemen .

Yemeni Houti forces on Saturday claimed that the strike was aided by “intelligence sources” operating from inside Saudi Arabia.

Irrespective of whether the projectiles were missiles or drones, the fact that they were able to get past Saudi Arabia’s Patriot missile air defences and other short and medium range defences including anti-drone systems indicates a big chink in Saudi Arabia’s protective armor.

Security experts aver that the projectiles were most likely fast moving cruise missiles which could be flying low to avoid radar and have a sophisticated course-correction and precision guidance system.