MOSCOW, May 16. /TASS/. The Ansar Allah (Houthi) rebels attacked the pipeline administered by the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Saudi Aramco, on Iran’s orders, Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud wrote on his official Twitter page on Thursday.

"The attack by the Iranian-backed Houthi militias against the two Aramco pumping stations proves that these militias are merely a tool that Iran's regime uses to implement its expansionist agenda in the region, and not to protect the people of Yemen as the Houthis falsely claim," he wrote. The Deputy Minister also pointed out that "the terrorist acts, ordered by the regime in Tehran, and carried out by the Houthis, are tightening the noose around the ongoing political efforts [to settle the conflict in Yemen]."

At the same time, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir wrote on his official Twitter page that "the Houthis are an indivisible part of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and subject to the IRGC’s orders." He also stressed that the Ansar Allah group "confirm day after day that they implement Iran’s agenda by sacrificing the need of the Yemeni people for the benefit of Iran."

On Tuesday, Saudi Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid al-Falih said that at 6-6:30 a.m. local time drones had hit two pumping stations of the pipeline used to deliver oil from the oil deposits in the East of the kingdom to the port of Yanbu in the West. At the same time, he underlined that the oil extraction had not been halted and there were no casualties or injuries following the attack.

According to the Syrian Al Massira TV channel the attack was staged by seven drones operated by the Yemeni Ansar Allah (Houthi) rebels. Per reports, the attack was launched in response to the "kingdom’s aggression against Yemen."

The attack on the Saudi oil facilities was condemned by Bahrein, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.