A ballistic missile fired by Yemen-based Ansar Allah militants (more commonly referred to as the Houthis) hit an area outside a residential compound for workers of the state-controlled oil company Saudi Aramco in Dhahran, Eastern Province, on the evening of 7 March. Saudi Arabia’s defence systems downed the missile, with no casualties reported. On the same day, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attack on the company’s storage tanks at nearby Ras Tanura was foiled. Energy assets across Saudi Arabia, most notably the Saudi Aramco-owned Abqaiq processing centre, have all been attacked since 2019. The attacks reinforce a perception that the country’s key energy assets are under siege.

Despite this physical threat from Iran-backed proxies, the foremost threat to Saudi Arabia arguably comes from the global oil transition. As oil’s role in the global economy shrinks, so too could Saudi Arabia’s economic and political influence.

A ballistic missile fired by Yemen-based Ansar Allah militants (more commonly referred to as the Houthis) hit an area outside a residential compound for workers of the state-controlled oil company Saudi Aramco in Dhahran, Eastern Province, on the evening of 7 March. Saudi Arabia’s defence systems downed the missile, with no casualties reported. On the same day, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attack on the company’s storage tanks at nearby Ras Tanura was foiled. Energy assets across Saudi Arabia, most notably the Saudi Aramco-owned Abqaiq processing centre, have all been attacked since 2019. The attacks reinforce a perception that the country’s key energy assets are under siege.

Despite this physical threat from Iran-backed proxies, the foremost threat to Saudi Arabia arguably comes from the global oil transition. As oil’s role in the global economy shrinks, so too could Saudi Arabia’s economic and political influence.

A ballistic missile fired by Yemen-based Ansar Allah militants (more commonly referred to as the Houthis) hit an area outside a residential compound for workers of the state-controlled oil company Saudi Aramco in Dhahran, Eastern Province, on the evening of 7 March. Saudi Arabia’s defence systems downed the missile, with no casualties reported. On the same day, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attack on the company’s storage tanks at nearby Ras Tanura was foiled. Energy assets across Saudi Arabia, most notably the Saudi Aramco-owned Abqaiq processing centre, have all been attacked since 2019. The attacks reinforce a perception that the country’s key energy assets are under siege.

Despite this physical threat from Iran-backed proxies, the foremost threat to Saudi Arabia arguably comes from the global oil transition. As oil’s role in the global economy shrinks, so too could Saudi Arabia’s economic and political influence.

A ballistic missile fired by Yemen-based Ansar Allah militants (more commonly referred to as the Houthis) hit an area outside a residential compound for workers of the state-controlled oil company Saudi Aramco in Dhahran, Eastern Province, on the evening of 7 March. Saudi Arabia’s defence systems downed the missile, with no casualties reported. On the same day, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attack on the company’s storage tanks at nearby Ras Tanura was foiled. Energy assets across Saudi Arabia, most notably the Saudi Aramco-owned Abqaiq processing centre, have all been attacked since 2019. The attacks reinforce a perception that the country’s key energy assets are under siege.

Despite this physical threat from Iran-backed proxies, the foremost threat to Saudi Arabia arguably comes from the global oil transition. As oil’s role in the global economy shrinks, so too could Saudi Arabia’s economic and political influence.

A ballistic missile fired by Yemen-based Ansar Allah militants (more commonly referred to as the Houthis) hit an area outside a residential compound for workers of the state-controlled oil company Saudi Aramco in Dhahran, Eastern Province, on the evening of 7 March. Saudi Arabia’s defence systems downed the missile, with no casualties reported. On the same day, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attack on the company’s storage tanks at nearby Ras Tanura was foiled. Energy assets across Saudi Arabia, most notably the Saudi Aramco-owned Abqaiq processing centre, have all been attacked since 2019. The attacks reinforce a perception that the country’s key energy assets are under siege.

Despite this physical threat from Iran-backed proxies, the foremost threat to Saudi Arabia arguably comes from the global oil transition. As oil’s role in the global economy shrinks, so too could Saudi Arabia’s economic and political influence.

A ballistic missile fired by Yemen-based Ansar Allah militants (more commonly referred to as the Houthis) hit an area outside a residential compound for workers of the state-controlled oil company Saudi Aramco in Dhahran, Eastern Province, on the evening of 7 March. Saudi Arabia’s defence systems downed the missile, with no casualties reported. On the same day, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attack on the company’s storage tanks at nearby Ras Tanura was foiled. Energy assets across Saudi Arabia, most notably the Saudi Aramco-owned Abqaiq processing centre, have all been attacked since 2019. The attacks reinforce a perception that the country’s key energy assets are under siege.

Despite this physical threat from Iran-backed proxies, the foremost threat to Saudi Arabia arguably comes from the global oil transition. As oil’s role in the global economy shrinks, so too could Saudi Arabia’s economic and political influence.