The pre-dawn attacks on Saturday last week knocked out more than half of crude output from the world’s top exporter – five percent of the global oil supply – and cut output by 5.7 million barrels per day.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have been locked in a war with a Saudi-UAE-led coalition since 2015, claimed responsibility for the attacks, warning Saudi Arabia their targets „will keep expanding”.
But US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo swiftly accused Iran of being behind the assault, without providing any evidence. The claim was rejected by Tehran that said the allegations were meant to justify „actions” against it.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, promised to „confront and deal with this terrorist aggression”, while US President Donald Trump hinted at possible military action.
Saturday, September 21
Saudi says will respond if Iran role confirmed
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir has said Riyadh will take the appropriate steps if its investigation confirms that Iran is responsible for the attacks.
„The kingdom will take the appropriate measures based on the results of the investigation, to ensure its security and stability,” al-Jubeir told a news conference, declining to speculate about specific actions.
„We are certain that the launch did not come from Yemen, it came from the north. The investigations will prove that.”
Iran threatens to make any aggressor ‘main battlefield’
The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned that any country that attacks the Islamic republic will see its territory turn into the conflict’s „main battlefield”.
„Whoever wants their land to become the main battlefield, go ahead,” Guards commander Hossein Salami told a news conference in Tehran. „We will never allow any war to encroach upon Iran’s territory.”
„Be careful, a limited aggression will not remain limited. We are after punishment and we will continue until the full destruction of any aggressor,” he said.
| Zarif: Saudi and UAE want to ‘fight Iran to the last American’ (2:04) |
CEO: Saudi Aramco ‘stronger than ever’
Saudi Aramco has emerged from the September 14 attacks on its oil facilities „stronger than ever”, Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser told employees in a message.
„The fires that were intended to destroy Saudi Aramco had an unintended consequence: they galvanised 70,000 of us around a mission to rebound quickly and confidently, and Saudi Aramco has come out of this incident stronger than ever,” said the message.
