Iran newspaper: Houthis are capable of reducing Saudi oil exports to zero

The editorial did not go as far as claiming that Iran was behind last week's attack.

By TZVI JOFFRE
Houthi fighters ride on the back of trucks as they take part in a parade in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, Yemen August 24, 2017. The placards read: "Allah is the greatest. Death to America, death to Israel, a curse on the Jews, victory to Islam." (photo credit: REUTERS)
Houthi fighters ride on the back of trucks as they take part in a parade in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, Yemen August 24, 2017. The placards read: "Allah is the greatest. Death to America, death to Israel, a curse on the Jews, victory to Islam."
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Iran-backed Houthis intend to expand attacks on Saudi Arabia to "no fewer than 300 military and other vital targets in Saudi Arabia" and are "capable of reducing Saudi oil exports to zero," wrote Sa'dollah Zarei in an editorial in Iran's Kayhan newspaper, according to MEMRI. 
Hossein Shariatmadari, the hard-line editor-in-chief of Kayhan, also serves as the representative of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameni, according to the New York Times.
The editorial also claimed that the Houthis' attack drones can "launch a war against Riyadh, because the distance between the two cities is no greater than 230 and 390 kilometers."
The editorial did not go as far as claiming that Iran was behind the attack.
Zarei also claimed that the US's lack of response to the attacks on Saudi oil facilities shows that "America cannot defend these two countries [Saudi Arabia and the UAE] and their policy, or that it does not want to continue supporting [them] futilely."
"Everyone must know that America's support cannot guarantee the life of illegitimate and aggressive regimes," Zarei wrote, according to MEMRI.
The editorial stated that this is not only an Iranian request and that it has "the support of all the nations of the region and most of their governments, whether openly or in secret."
"There must be surgery in our Islamic region to remove this cancerous growth [Saudi Arabia] from it," Zarei emphasized.