France will deploy military assets to help protect Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu oil terminal from attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement, French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday.

Macron said France plans to send soldiers, radar systems and air defence equipment to safeguard the key Saudi facility, highlighting the growing security concerns around the country’s oil infrastructure.

“We are going to send military assets,” Macron said in an interview with TF1 and France 2, referring to the deployment planned to protect Yanbu.

Yanbu has become a key outlet for Saudi oil exports after Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz at the start of the Middle East war.

Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest crude oil exporter, and the security of alternative export routes has become increasingly important amid disruptions affecting major waterways in the region.

The situation has also drawn attention to the Red Sea and the Strait of Bab al-Mandab, two important routes for global energy shipments.

The Houthi movement has carried out attacks on facilities belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco in Yanbu.

The recent Houthi takeover of Yemen’s Red Sea coast has further strengthened Iran and its regional allies’ control over strategic positions around the waterways.

With AFP inputs