World·Middle East
France to send troops and air defenses to protect Saudi Arabia's Yanbu oil hub
French President Emmanuel Macron said France will send soldiers, radar systems and air-defense systems to help protect the Red Sea port city of Yanbu in Saudi Arabia, a key energy-export hub that has come under missile attack from Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis, Reuters reported via Defense News. "We are going to send military resources … to protect this site — not to get us involved in any conflicts, but to protect this site," Macron said in a primetime French television interview. Crude prices have surged as Yanbu, an alternate Saudi export route, faced Houthi missile attacks; Saudi Arabia said earlier Friday it had intercepted six ballistic missiles fired toward Taif and the Yanbu area.
Sources
- Defense News / ReutersFrance to send military to protect Saudi Arabia on Red Sea oil route, Macron says