Trump says Iran appears to be culprit for Saudi oil attacks
US President Donald Trump declared Monday that Tehran was likely behind strikes on Saudi oil facilities, but that he wanted to be sure and he hoped to "avoid" war. "It is certainly looking that way at this moment," he told reporters when asked if he believes Iran carried out the attack.
- Magazine
- Reuters
- Published Date: 11:05 | 16 September 2019
- Modified Date: 11:05 | 16 September 2019
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that it looked like Iran was responsible for attacks over the weekend on Saudi Arabian oil plants, but he was in no rush to respond and was still trying to find out who was behind the strikes.
Several U.S. cabinet officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, have blamed Tehran for the attacks, which cut 5% of world crude oil production.
Iran has denied blame, with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani saying the strike was carried out by "Yemeni people" retaliating to attacks by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen's four-year-old war.
Trump said the United States had a lot of options to respond to the attacks, but declined to say what measures he was considering. He added that, while the United States could help, he had not promised protection to Riyadh.
The attacks on Saudi Arabia have damaged the globe's largest crude processing plant and triggered the biggest jump in oil prices in nearly 30 years.