U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that America backs Saudi Arabia's "right to defend itself" after a weekend attack targeted the heart of its oil industry, comments coming after he described the assault as an "act of war."

The attacks have reignited fears over a wider conflagration in the region, as tensions remain high over Iran's collapsing nuclear deal with world powers.

Saudi Arabia said it will unveil evidence on Wednesday linking regional foe Iran to attacks on key oil installations, as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo heads to the kingdom to discuss possible retaliation.

Saudi Arabia said Wednesday it joined a U.S.-led coalition to secure the Mideast's waterways amid threats from Iran after an attack targeting its crucial oil industry.

The kingdom's decision to enter the International Maritime Security Construct came ahead of a planned visit by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Saudi officials separately planned to share information about the weapons used to attack a Saudi oil field and the world's largest crude oil processing plant Saturday.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo departed for Saudi Arabia Tuesday to discuss possible retaliation after Washington said it had proof that attacks on Saudi oil installations originated in Iran.

Drone attacks sparked fires at two Saudi Aramco oil facilities on Saturday, the interior ministry said, the latest such assault claimed by Yemeni rebels as the energy giant prepares for a much-anticipated stock listing.

A French court will rule Thursday whether a sister of the Saudi crown prince had a hand in the alleged beating of a workman who carried out repairs in her luxury Paris apartment.

Saudi Arabia is confronting the perils of its combative foreign policy as it slides further into a military quagmire in Yemen, one of a series of strategic missteps under the ambitious crown prince, analysts say.

Yemen was reeling Monday from the deadliest attack so far this year after multiple airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition hit a detention center run by the country's rebels the previous day, killing over 100 people and wounding dozens.

By midday, rescue and search teams retrieved 86 bodies but continued to search for more in the rubble of a building complex in southwestern Dhamar province that the Iran-backed rebel Houthis were using as a detention center, Yemen's Red Crescent said.

Atop a string of green mountains in Saudi Arabia, a monthlong festival drew a medley of yoga enthusiasts, extreme adventure seekers, tourists and traditional Saudi families — many wearing colorful flower crowns native to the region as the kingdom looks for ways to revamp its image and build up tourism.

The al-Soudah festival, which ran throughout the month of August, gave visitors a chance to experience a unique region in Saudi Arabia and take part in outdoor sports like hiking, mountain biking, paragliding, horseback riding, zip lining and bungee jumping. Thousands also attended concerts by Middle Eastern superstars.

With burger patties sizzling over a hot grill, a Saudi eatery did the unthinkable as a muezzin's call to prayer sent Muslim worshippers scrambling to lower their shutters: it stayed open.