Saudi Arabia says oil infrastructure sites belonging to the country's state-run oil company Aramco have been targeted and that at least one of the attacks was carried out by drone strikes.

The announcement came shortly after Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed an assault on the kingdom.

The state Saudi Press Agency quoted Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih as saying that between 6-6.30am on Tuesday, a petroleum pumping station supplying an east-west pipeline between the Eastern Province and to the Yanbu Port on the Red Sea was targeted by drones.

He said a fire broke out at a station along the pipeline and was subsequently put out. Aramco has temporarily stopped pumping petroleum through the pipeline until inspection of the damage is complete.

The kingdom's state security body also said two oil infrastructure sites in the greater region of Riyadh, its landlocked capital, were targeted at the same time. The statement described it as a “limited targeting” of petroleum stations in areas al-Dudami and Afif in Riyadh region. </s> OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia said it had stopped pumping crude oil along a major pipeline Tuesday following a drone attack, hours after Yemen's Huthi rebels said they had targeted vital Saudi installations.

Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said two pumping stations on the pipeline from the oil-rich Eastern Province to the Red Sea had been targeted early Tuesday.

The vital pipeline has a capacity of at least five million barrels per day.

"Saudi Aramco took precautionary measures and temporarily stopped operation of the pipeline, as it is evaluating the situation and working on restoring the operations of the affected pump station and the pipeline," Falih said in a statement cited by state news agency SPA.

The 1,200-kilometre (750-mile) pipeline carries crude from Saudi Arabia's main eastern oil fields to the Red Sea port city of Yanbu in the west.

It was created several decades ago as an alternative for Saudi crude exports if the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf were to be closed.

The pumping stations reportedly targeted lie west of the capital Riyadh, at Dawadmi and Afeef.

Yemen's Huthi rebels said Tuesday they had attacked several vital Saudi targets with drones.

The reported pipeline attacks came amid spiralling tensions in the Gulf, following a series of mysterious attacks on ships off the coast of the UAE and a major US military deployment to the region.

"The latest acts of terrorism and sabotage in the Arabian Gulf... not only target the Kingdom but also the security of oil supplies to the world and the global economy," he said.

"These attacks prove again that it is important for us to face terrorist entities, including the Houthi militias in Yemen that are backed by Iran."

Get the latest election news, live updates and election schedule for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 on ndtv.com/elections. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram for updates from each of the 543 parliamentary seats for the 2019 Indian general elections. Election results will be out on May 23. </s> Two oil-pumping stations for the East-West pipeline had been hit by explosive-laden drones, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid al-Falih said on Tuesday, calling the attack "an act of terrorism" that targeted global oil supplies.

Al-Falih said that Saudi oil output and exports for crude and refined products were continuing without disruption, but that the state oil giant Aramco had halted oil pumping in the pipeline while the damage was evaluated and the stations were repaired. He added that a fire broke out in one of the stations as a result of the attack, but was quickly contained.

The oil-pumping stations linked the Eastern Province and the city of Yanbu. The two targeted pipeline booster stations were located in Saudi Arabia’s town of Al al-Duwadimi and the city of Afif.

Al-Falih added that the drone attack was done with the aim of disrupting world oil supplies.

The energy minister said that Saudi oil production and exports will still continue uninterrupted, adding that the attack “proves the importance of confronting all terrorist organizations.”

Yemen’s Houthi-run Masirah TV had cited a military official saying seven drones staged attacks on vital Saudi installations. </s> Saudi Arabia has confirmed that two pump stations on its East-West pipeline were attacked by armed drones, however asserted that its supplies and exports of crude oil and products are operating normally without interruption In a statement, Khalid A. Al Falih, Minister of Energy, Industry, and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia, said that on Tuesday, 14th May 2019, between 06:00 and 06:30, Pump Stations Nos. 8 and 9 on the East-West pipeline, which carries Saudi oil from the Eastern Province to Yanbu port, were attacked by armed drones, igniting a fire that caused minor damage to Pump Station No. 8, but it was eventually brought under control.

Saudi Aramco took precautionary measures and temporarily stopped operation of the pipeline, as it is evaluating the situation and working on restoring the operations of the affected pump station and the pipeline, according to the Saudi state news agency, SPA.

Al Falih asserted that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia condemns this attack, emphasising that the latest acts of terrorism and sabotage in the Arabian Gulf targeting vital facilities do not only target the Kingdom but also the security of oil supplies to the world and the global economy.

"These attacks prove again that it is important for us to face terrorist entities, including the Houthi militias in Yemen that are backed by Iran," the minister added. </s> DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Araba said drones attacked one of its oil pipelines as other assaults targeted energy infrastructure elsewhere in the kingdom on Tuesday, shortly after Yemen’s rebels claimed a coordinated drone attack on the Sunni power.

The assaults marked the latest incidents challenging Mideast security after the alleged sabotage of oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates earlier this week amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels, whom Saudi Arabia has been fighting against since March 2015, said they launched a series of drone attacks on the kingdom, across the border from Yemen. The spokesman of the rebels, Mohammed Abdel-Salam, told The Associated Press: “This is a message to Saudi Arabia, stop your aggression.”

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“Our goal is to respond to the crimes they are committing everyday against the Yemeni people,” he added.

In a statement carried on the state-run Saudi Press Agency, Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said that drones attacked a petroleum pumping station supplying a pipeline running from its oil-rich Eastern Province to the Yanbu Port on the Red Sea.

A fire broke out and firefighters later brought it under control, though the state-run Saudi Aramco stopped pumping oil through the pipeline.

The kingdom’s state security body also said two petroleum pumping stations in the greater region of Riyadh, the landlocked capital, were targeted at the same time. The statement described it as a “limited targeting” of petroleum stations in areas al-Duadmi and Afif in the Riyadh region, without elaborating.

Al-Falih called the attack “cowardly,” saying that recent sabotage acts against the kingdom’s vital installations not only target Saudi Arabia, but the safety of the world’s energy supply and global economy. He said this reaffirms the need of the international community to confront the activities of groups like the Houthis. He also promised the production and export of Saudi oil would not be interrupted.

Benchmark Brent crude traded at $71 a barrel Tuesday, up $1.27 on the day.

The attack on Saudi oil targets comes after four oil tankers anchored in the Mideast were damaged by what Gulf officials described as sabotage, though satellite images obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday showed no major visible damage to the vessels.

Details of the alleged sabotage to two Saudi, one Norwegian and one Emirati oil tanker on Sunday remained unclear, and Gulf officials have declined to say who they suspected was responsible. But it demonstrated the raised risks for shippers in a region vital to global energy supplies as tensions are increasing between the US and Iran over its unraveling nuclear deal with world powers.

The US has warned sailors of the potential for attacks on commercial sea traffic, and regional allies of the United Arab Emirates condemned the alleged sabotage as the tankers were off the coast of the UAE port city of Fujairah.

A US official in Washington, without offering any evidence, told the AP that an American military team’s initial assessment indicated Iran or Iranian allies used explosives to blow holes in the ships. The official, who was not authorized to discuss the investigation, agreed to reveal the findings only if not quoted by name. The US Navy’s 5th Fleet, which patrols the Mideast and operates from a base in Fujairah, has repeatedly declined to comment.

The US already had warned ships that “Iran or its proxies” could be targeting maritime traffic in the region. America is deploying an aircraft carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln, and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf to counter alleged, still-unspecified threats from Tehran.

On Tuesday, Spain temporarily pulled one of its frigates that was part of a US-led combat fleet from near the Persian Gulf because of mounting US-Iran tensions. The Ministry of Defense said the Méndez Núñez, with 215 sailors on board, will not cross the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf together with the USS Abraham Lincoln. The Spanish frigate was the only non-US vessel in the fleet.

Citing heightened tensions in the region, the United Nations called on “all concerned parties to exercise restraint for the sake of regional peace, including by ensuring maritime security” and freedom of navigation, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.

Tensions in the region have risen since Trump withdrew America from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, and restored US sanctions that have pushed Iran’s economy into crisis. Last week, Iran warned it would begin enriching uranium at higher levels in 60 days if world powers failed to negotiate new terms for the deal.

The oil tankers were visible in satellite images provided Tuesday to the AP by Colorado-based Maxar Technologies. A boom surrounded the Emirati oil tanker A. Michel, indicating the possibility of an oil leak. The other three showed no visible major damage from above.

Yemen plunged into civil war in 2014 when Iran-backed rebels captured the capital, Sanaa. A Saudi-led coalition entered the war in March 2015 to help government troops facing the Houthi advance. The US supported the coalition for years despite its airstrikes killing civilians, and is only recently beginning to step back after the October killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul by Saudi agents.

This isn’t the first time Yemen’s Houthis have used drones as weapons — a bomb-laden drone launched by the rebels exploded over a military parade in January for the Saudi-led coalition, killing at least six people.

The use of drones also raises new concerns over Iran’s influence in the conflict. Coalition officials have recently displayed a series of drones they claim show a growing sophistication of the Houthis, starting first with plastic foam models that could be built by a hobby kit, to one captured in April that closely resembled an Iranian-made drone.

Those drones have been flown into the radar arrays of Saudi Arabia’s Patriot missile batteries, according to the research group Conflict Armament Research, disabling them and allowing the Houthis to fire ballistic missiles into the kingdom unchallenged.

Iran has been accused by the US and the UN of supplying ballistic missile technology and arms to the Houthis, which Tehran denies.

Such drones remain difficult to shoot down with either light or heavy weapons. Iraqi forces learned this from driving out the Islamic State group from northern Iraq, where the extremists would load drones with grenades or simple explosives to target their forces. </s> The Latest: Khamenei says Iran won’t negotiate with US

In this photo taken in March 2006 and made available by the Ministerio de Defensa de Espana, sailors stand on board the Mendez Nunez Spanish frigate, in Ferrol, Spain. Spain has temporarily pulled out the frigate that was part of a United States-led combat fleet from waters near the Persian Gulf, where tension is mounting between the US and Iran. (Ministerio de Defensa de Espana, via AP)

In this photo taken in March 2006 and made available by the Ministerio de Defensa de Espana, sailors stand on board the Mendez Nunez Spanish frigate, in Ferrol, Spain. Spain has temporarily pulled out the frigate that was part of a United States-led combat fleet from waters near the Persian Gulf, where tension is mounting between the US and Iran. (Ministerio de Defensa de Espana, via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Latest on developments in the Persian Gulf, elsewhere in Mideast, amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran (all times local):

9:25 p.m.

Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says his country won’t negotiate with the United States and there will be no war between the two countries.

Iran’s state TV quoted Khamenei on Tuesday as calling negotiations with the U.S. “poison” and saying: “This is not a military confrontation, because no war is going to happen.”

Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, said: “Neither we, nor they are seeking war, they know that it is not to their benefit.”

The Ayatollah’s comments come as tensions have escalated between Washington and Tehran. The Trump administration has sent the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and a bomber squadron to the region in response to unspecified threats by Iran against American interests.

___

7:50 p.m.

President Donald Trump is dismissing a report that the U.S. is planning for a military conflict with Iran.

Trump was responding to Tuesday’s report in The New York Times that the White House is reviewing military plans against Iran that could result in sending 120,000 U.S. troops to the Middle East if Iran attacks American forces or steps up work on nuclear weapons.

Trump says it’s “fake news.” He says he would “absolutely” be willing to send troops, but that he’s not planned for that and hopefully won’t have to plan for that.

He says if the U.S. was going to get into a military conflict with Iran, “we’d send a hell of a lot more” troops.

Trump spoke to reporters at the White House before traveling to Louisiana.

___

6:30 p.m.

The head of the Arab League has condemned attacks claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels against an oil pipeline and other energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.

Ahmed Aboul-Gheit says in a statement on Tuesday that the attacks were a “serious threat to the regional and international security, and the world economy.”

He says the Arab League stands by Saudi Arabia to “counter these terrorist threats aimed at stabilizing the region.”

The attacks on Saudi oil targets marked the latest incidents challenging Mideast security after the alleged sabotage of two Saudi oil tankers and two other vessels off the coast of the United Arab Emirates on Sunday. The attacks come amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran and the unraveling of the Iranian nuclear deal with world powers.

___

6:10 p.m.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels say their drone attack on Saudi Arabia was the biggest since the civil war in Yemen erupted in 2015.

Yahia al-Sarei, a spokesman for Houthi-affiliated forces, said in a video statement that seven drones were involved in Tuesday’s attacks against an oil pipeline and other energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.

He says the attacks were a “legitimate response on the crimes committed against the Yemeni people.”

___

4:25 p.m.

Egypt has condemned drone attacks claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels against an oil pipeline and other energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.

A statement by the Foreign Ministry says Egypt stands alongside Saudi Arabia “to counter all attempts meant to stabilize the kingdom” in the wake of Tuesday’s attacks.

The statement says Egypt is coordinating with Saudi Arabia to face “terror and all threats to its national security.”

The attacks on Saudi oil targets marked the latest incidents challenging Mideast security after the alleged sabotage of two Saudi oil tankers and two other vessels off the coast of the United Arab Emirates on Sunday amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran and the unraveling of the Iranian nuclear deal with world powers.

___

4 p.m.

Spain’s defense minister says the government’s decision to remove a Spanish frigate from a U.S.-led combat fleet approaching the Persian Gulf was taken for “technical reasons” and had no political motive.

Defense Minister Margarita Robles said on Tuesday the decision “is not an expression of distaste” over the crossing into the Strait of Hormuz of the fleet headed by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.

The U.S. fleet is heading to the Persian Gulf as tension mounts between the United States and Iran.

Robles told reporters the Gulf mission was not included in a cooperation agreement signed two years ago that placed the Méndez Núñez frigate on a training mission with the U.S. fleet.

She says the frigate will return to the fleet once normal operations resume, declining to give an opinion about the U.S. policy toward Iran.

Spanish media, citing government sources, said Spain is concerned it could be dragged to an unwanted conflict as a result of the crisis between Washington and Teheran surrounding the unraveling nuclear deal.

___

3:40 p.m.

Iran’s foreign minister says the sabotage attack on oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates this week was meant to stir up wider conflict in the region.

Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke on Tuesday while visiting New Delhi for meetings with Indian officials. He says they discussed the recent incidents of “suspicious activities and sabotage in the region.”

Zarf says he had “previously predicted this sort of activities, aimed at escalating tension in the region.”

The official IRNA news agency also quoted Zarif as saying he discussed the dangers imposed by “hard-liners in the U.S. administration and the region.” He did not elaborate.

Zarif regularly accuses the Trump administration, Israel and Saudi Arabia of pushing the region into war.

___

3:05 p.m.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels say their drone assault on Saudi Arabia was meant to send a message to the kingdom to “stop your aggression” on Yemen.

The spokesman of the rebels, Mohammed Abdel-Salam, says the Houthis launched a series of drone attacks on Tuesday on the kingdom.

He told The Associated Press: “This is a message to Saudi Arabia, stop your aggression.”

Abdel-Salam also says: “Our goal is to respond to the crimes they are committing every day against the Yemeni people.”

Yemen has been devastated by a brutal civil war in which the Houthis, who have occupied the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen, are battling government troops, backed by a Saudi-led coalition.

___

2:35 p.m.

Saudi Arabia says oil infrastructure sites belonging to the country’s state-run oil company Aramco have been targeted and that at least one of the attacks was carried out by drone strikes.

The announcement came shortly after Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed an assault on the kingdom.

The state Saudi Press Agency quoted Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih as saying that between 6-6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, a petroleum pumping station supplying an east-west pipeline between the Eastern Province and to the Yanbu Port on the Red Sea was targeted by drones.

He says a fire broke out at a station along the pipeline and was subsequently put out. Aramco has temporarily stopped pumping petroleum through the pipeline until inspection of the damage is complete.

The kingdom’s state security body also says two oil infrastructure sites in the greater region of Riyadh, its landlocked capital, were targeted at the same time. The statement described it as a “limited targeting” of petroleum stations in areas al-Duadmi and Afif in Riyadh region.

___

11:50 a.m.

Spain has temporarily pulled out a frigate that was part of a U.S.-led combat fleet from waters near the Persian Gulf, where tensions are mounting between the United States and Iran.

The Spanish Ministry of Defense says the Méndez Núñez frigate, with 215 sailors on board, will not cross the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf together with the fleet headed by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.

The Ministry declined to elaborate on the reasons of the sudden change.

Spanish media, citing government sources, said Spain is concerned that it could be dragged to an unwanted conflict as a result of the crisis between Washington and Teheran surrounding the unraveling nuclear deal with world powers.

The Spanish frigate was the only non-U.S. vessel in the fleet, which is scheduled to sail to California in late October.

___

7:50 a.m.

New satellite photos obtained by The Associated Press show the oil tankers that Gulf officials alleged were the targets of “sabotage” off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.

The images, provided on Tuesday by Colorado-based Maxar Technologies, show the oil tankers. Two are from Saudi Arabia, one is Norwegian and the other is Emirati.

A boom surrounds the Emirati oil tanker, suggesting officials worry about an oil leak from the vessel.

Otherwise, the vessels do not show signs of massive damage. The Norwegian ship sustained a hole just above its hull in the incident.

A U.S. official, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation, said all the ships sustained similar damage.

—Lolita C. Baldor in Washington; </s> Abu Dhabi: Oil prices spiked by 2 per cent on Monday on supply concerns, following attacks on two oil tankers from Saudi Arabia near the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent, the global benchmark was up 1.76 per cent at $71.86 per barrel on Monday at 2.26pm.

One of the two vessels was on its way to be loaded with Saudi crude oil from the port of Ras Tanura, to be delivered to Saudi Aramco’s customers in the United States.

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the busiest shipping routes in the world, through which 40 per cent of traded global oil passes daily.

Though the incident didn’t lead to any causalities or oil spill, it has sparked fears of a potential supply disruption in what is the global epicentre of the world’s oil supply.

“This strategic waterway is without a doubt the most important oil artery with around 19 million barrels or a third of all seaborne oil passing through it. Any further disruptions to shipping flows in this most vital of choke points risk stoking fears of a supply crunch and subsequent spike in oil prices,” Stephen Brennock, an oil analyst from London based PVM oil associates told Gulf News.

Attention will now turn to avoiding repeat incidences and safeguarding passage for all freight in the Strait of Hormuz, he added.

The latest tensions in the Middle East come as the United States administration terminates Iran sanction waivers granted to eight countries that import oil from the Islamic Republic.

Bjornar Tonhaugen, head of oil market research at Rystad Energy in Oslo, also told Gulf News oil prices would react violently upwards if the strait was to be blocked or disrupted, even only for a short period of time.

“There is limited bypassing options to export crude although Saudi Arabia and the UAE have limited pipeline capacity to pass some crude exports to the Red Sea or the Gulf of Oman. All oil exports from Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and around 90 per cent of Saudi Arabia’s oil and 75 per cent of Iraqi crude exports pass through the Strait of Hormuz.”

The UAE built a 370-kilometre pipeline connecting Habshan in Abu Dhabi and Fujairah with a capacity to transport 1.5 million barrels per day of crude oil in 2012 to help the country supply oil bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. </s> All oil and gas facilities, plants, and refineries in Saudi Arabia are operating normally, the state oil giant Saudi Aramco said on Thursday, after the Yemeni Houthi movement said earlier today that it had fired a ballistic missile targeting Aramco in the southern Saudi province of Najran.

According to a news agency controlled by the Houthi rebels, they fired a short-range ballistic missile aimed at Saudi Aramco in Najran. The report by the rebel website didn’t offer details about the installation they were targeting.

According to Aramco’s website, the Saudi oil giant has a loading facility in Najran, which is close to the border with Yemen.

Aramco didn’t mention the report of the missile in the statement in which it said that all its facilities in Saudi Arabia are safe, Bloomberg notes.

The Houthi Shiite rebel group is aligned with Iran and is fighting a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. In February 2015, the Houthi rebels forced President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee to Saudi Arabia, Yemen’s neighbor to the north.

Since March 2015, the Houthi rebels and loyalists to Hadi have been fighting a civil war in Yemen and forces in the Saudi-led Arab coalition are trying to restore Hadi to power.

Houthi rebels have fired or claimed to have fired many missiles on Saudi Arabia since then, but they have caused little damage, and many of those missiles have been intercepted by the Saudi military.

At the end of last year, the Houthis threatened that they would start attacking oil tankers and warships sailing under enemy flag if the Gulf coalition fighting it in the country does not reopen its ports.

Yemen lies along one of the main global oil chokepoints in the Red Sea. Millions of barrels of crude oil pass Yemeni shores from the Suez Canal en route to Europe every day. </s> "The kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not want a war in the region nor does it seek that," Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir told a news conference.

[RIYADH] Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it wanted to avert war in the region but stood ready to respond with "all strength" following last week's attacks on Saudi oil assets, telling Iran that the ball was now in its court.

Riyadh has accused Tehran of ordering Tuesday's drone strikes on two oil pumping stations in the kingdom, claimed by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group. Two days earlier, four vessels, including two Saudi oil tankers, were sabotaged off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.

In response, countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) began "enhanced security patrols" in the international waters of the Arabian Gulf area on Saturday, the US Navy's Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet said on Sunday.

Iran has denied involvement in either operation, which come as Washington and the Islamic Republic spar over sanctions and the US military presence in the region, raising concerns about a potential US-Iran conflict.

"The kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not want a war in the region nor does it seek that," Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir told a news conference.

"It will do what it can to prevent this war and at the same time it reaffirms that in the event the other side chooses war, the kingdom will respond with all force and determination, and it will defend itself and its interests."

Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Sunday invited Gulf and Arab leaders to convene emergency summits in Mecca on May 30 to discuss implications of the attacks.

"The current critical circumstances entail a unified Arab and Gulf stance toward the besetting challenges and risks," the UAE foreign ministry said in a statement.

The US Navy's Fifth Fleet said in its statement about increased maritime patrols that GCC countries were "specifically increasing communication and coordination with each other in support of regional naval cooperation and maritime security operations in the Arabian Gulf," with navies and coast guards working with the US Navy.

Saudi Arabia's Sunni Muslim ally the UAE has not blamed anyone for the tanker sabotage operation, pending an investigation. No-one has claimed responsibility, but two US government sources said last week that US officials believed Iran had encouraged the Houthi group or Iraq-based Shi'ite militias to carry it out.

The drone strike on oil pumping stations, which Riyadh said did not disrupt output or exports, was claimed by the Houthis, who have been battling a Saudi-led military coalition in a war in Yemen since 2015.

The Houthi-controlled SABA news agency said on Sunday, citing a military source from the group, that targeting Aramco's installations last week was the beginning of coming military operations against 300 vital military targets.

Targets include vital military headquarters and facilities in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, as well as their bases in Yemen, the source told SABA.

The head of the Houthis' Supreme Revolutionary Committee, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, derided Riyadh's call to convene Arab summits, saying in a Twitter post that they "only know how to support war and destruction".

A Norwegian insurers' report seen by Reuters said Iran's Revolutionary Guards were "highly likely" to have facilitated the attack on vessels near the UAE's Fujairah emirate, a main bunkering hub lying just outside the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has dismissed the possibility of war erupting, saying Tehran did not want conflict and no country had the "illusion it can confront Iran". This stance was echoed by the head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards on Sunday.

"We are not pursuing war but we are also not afraid of war," Major General Hossein Salami was cited as saying by the semi-official news agency Tasnim.

Washington has tightened economic sanctions against Iran, trying to cut Tehran's oil exports to zero, and beefed up the US military presence in the Gulf in response to what it said were Iranian threats to United States troops and interests.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed regional developments, including efforts to strengthen security and stability, in a phone call with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the Saudi Media Ministry tweeted on Sunday.

"We want peace and stability in the region but we will not sit on our hands in light of the continuing Iranian attack," Mr Jubeir said. "The ball is in Iran's court and it is up to Iran to determine what its fate will be."

He said the crew of an Iranian oil tanker that had been towed to Saudi Arabia early this month after a request for help due to engine trouble were still in the kingdom receiving the "necessary care". The crew are 24 Iranians and two Bangladeshis.

Saudi Arabia and Shi'ite Iran are arch-adversaries in the Middle East, backing opposite sides in several regional wars.

In a sign of the heightened tension, Exxon Mobil evacuated foreign staff from an oilfield in neighbouring Iraq.

Bahrain on Saturday warned its citizens against travel to Iraq and Iran and asked those already there to return.

The US Federal Aviation Administration has issued an advisory to U.S. commercial airliners flying over the waters of the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman to exercise caution.
Two Saudi Aramco oil pumping stations are attacked in an apparent drone strike according to Saudi Arabia's Energy Ministry. The stations are linked to a pipeline transporting oil from the eastern fields to the western coast port of Yanbu on the Red Sea.