Iranian-backed militias carried out a precision strike last month, hitting the pumping stations of Saudi Arabia’s most important oil pipeline. Days later, another attack hit a Saudi military air base, damaging an Italian fighter jet inside a hangar.Crucial to the strikes’ success was what was happening in the skies overhead: For days beforehand, Russian spy satellites converged over the pipeline and the air base to gather intelligence.A private geospatial intelligence firm said it examined 40 missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia by Houthi rebels in Yemen and militias in Iraq between July 1 and Oct 19. In every case, the firm found the same pattern of Russian govt and military satellites orbiting above the areas for days before and after. “What we found is a 100% match” between the satellite activities and strikes, said Nawaf Obaid, founder of Geneva-based AURORAH Geosignal Intelligence.
