Saudi Arabia said its air defences intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of Makkah before it could enter the prohibited airspace over the holy city, as the Kingdom faced a widening campaign of attacks by the Iran-aligned Yemeni group.
Saudi Arabia has shut down its East-West pipeline temporarily after the vital oil conduit came under aerial attack in the widening Middle East war, threatening to send energy prices even higher, said media reports. This 1,200-km pipeline had helped the kingdom bypass a shipping logjam in the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices extended gains on March 30, with Brent headed for a record monthly rise, after Yemeni Houthis launched their first attacks on Israel over the weekend, widening the US-Israel war with Iran in the Middle East.
