Attack on SA launched from Iran per ABC news
Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2019 4:56 pm
New York Times Sept. 16, 2019
Updated 5:41 p.m. ET
Trump Says Iran Appears Responsible for Attack on Saudi Oil Facilities
President Trump said Monday that Iran appeared to be responsible for the weekend attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities. But Mr. Trump also said he would “like to avoid” a military conflict with Tehran and reiterated his interest in diplomacy.
Asked at the White House whether Iran was behind the attack, Mr. Trump said, “It’s looking that way.” But he stopped short of a definitive confirmation. “That’s being checked out right now,” he added.
Mr. Trump warned that the United States has fearsome military capabilities and is prepared for war if necessary. “With all that being said, we’d certainly like to avoid it,” he added. “I know they want to make a deal,” he said of Iranian officials, whom he has been trying to draw into talks over their nuclear program. “At some point it will work out.”
Mr. Trump’s comments came shortly after a Saudi government statement said that, “Initial investigations have indicated that the weapons used in the attack were Iranian weapons.” But the Saudis stopped short of directly blaming Iran for the attack.
The Saudis called for international experts to visit and assess the evidence. Their statement said the Saudis would “forcefully respond to these aggressions.”
Mr. Trump also told reporters on Monday that he had not “promised” to protect the Saudis and that he would “sit down with the Saudis and work something out.”
Responsibility for the weekend attack was claimed by Yemen’s rebel Houthi faction. Iran is a chief ally of the Houthis.
The attack on Saturday was the most audacious and damaging blow to Saudi Arabia in the four and a half years of civil war in Yemen, and helped drive world oil prices up by about 10 percent.
But the Saudis did not directly accuse Iran of launching the strikes and refrained from calling for retaliation amid escalating tensions between Iran and the United States, which have raised fears of a wider armed conflict.
The Houthis have claimed that they carried out the attacks, and Iran has denied any involvement. But Trump administration officials have previously said that the Iranians should be held responsible for the actions of forces in the region that they support, including the Yemeni rebels.
An investigation into the strikes is still underway, but “the initial results show that they are Iranian weapons,” Col. Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen, said at a news conference in Riyadh.
“The terrorist attack was not from Yemeni territory, as the Houthi militias claimed,” he said, adding that the Saudis were still “working to determine the launch point.”
United States officials have said that Tehran was responsible and have suggested that a military response may come. But they have not said whether that meant Iran actually had a hand in directing or mounting the offensive, and offered no evidence for an Iranian role beyond satellite photos of the damage whose meaning was unclear.
The Americans, too, have cast doubt on whether the attacks were launched from Houthi territory in Yemen, far south of the targets, suggesting that they originated from the north — the direction of Iran — or northwest.
United Nations experts say that Iran has supplied the Houthis with drones and missiles that have greatly expanded their offensive capacity.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/16/worl ... i-oil.html
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From ABC News:
"Iran launched nearly a dozen cruise missiles and over 20 drones from its territory in the attack on a key Saudi oil facility Saturday, a senior Trump administration official told ABC News Sunday.
It is an extraordinary charge to make, that Iran used missiles and drones to attack its neighbor and rival Saudi Arabia, as the region teeters on the edge of high tensions.
President Donald Trump warned the U.S. was "locked and loaded" to respond to the attack on Sunday, waiting for verification of who was responsible and for word from Saudi Arabia on how to proceed.
The Trump administration, in particular Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, has blamed Iran for the attack since Saturday, but so far, there's been no public accusation that Iran launched missiles.
The Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen claimed responsibility for the assault, which hit one of the world's largest oil processing facilities, hundreds of miles from the Yemen-Saudi border, and sharply impacted global oil supplies.
But a senior U.S. official told ABC News Saturday that was false: "It was Iran. The Houthis are claiming credit for something they did not do."
Pompeo tweeted that there was "no evidence the attacks came from Yemen."
The attack on the Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco also included more than 20 drones, the official said.
Iran has denied responsibility for the attack, accusing Pompeo of "max deceit," as the country's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted Saturday.
In a Sunday evening tweet, Trump did not share the definitive accusation against Iran, instead saying the U.S. had "reason to believe that we know the culprit ... but are waiting to hear from the Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia] as to who they believe was the cause of this attack."
The senior official told ABC News the president is fully aware that Iran is responsible, but he wants the Saudis to acknowledge it if they want U.S. help.
Trump promised the U.S. was "locked and loaded depending on verification" and waiting for the Saudis to say "under what terms we would proceed!"
Critics condemned Trump's threat to act, especially at the Saudis' behest. Rep. Justin Amash, of Michigan, a former Republican and now Independent, tweeted, "Under our Constitution, the power to commence war lies with Congress, not the president and certainly not Saudi Arabia. We don’t take orders from foreign powers."
Tensions have been high since Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 and strictly reimposed sanctions, including on Iran's oil industry -- its economic lifeblood.
In an escalating series of moves, Tehran has sought to counter or undermine those sanctions -- attacking a handful of oil tankers, seizing others and their crews and assaulting Saudi oil facilities, according to U.S. officials.
The risk of conflict seemed lower less than a week ago, with the departure of hawkish National Security Adviser John Bolton and Trump seeming to embrace the possibility of talks with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani at the United Nations General Assembly later this month in New York. Pompeo said Tuesday that Trump was "prepared to meet with no preconditions."
But in a reversal Sunday, Trump tweeted it was "incorrect" to say he was willing to meet without conditions, blaming the "fake news" despite his repeated statements saying so.
In July 2018, the president first said "no preconditions ... If they want to meet, I'll meet -- anytime they want."
Updated 5:41 p.m. ET
Trump Says Iran Appears Responsible for Attack on Saudi Oil Facilities
President Trump said Monday that Iran appeared to be responsible for the weekend attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities. But Mr. Trump also said he would “like to avoid” a military conflict with Tehran and reiterated his interest in diplomacy.
Asked at the White House whether Iran was behind the attack, Mr. Trump said, “It’s looking that way.” But he stopped short of a definitive confirmation. “That’s being checked out right now,” he added.
Mr. Trump warned that the United States has fearsome military capabilities and is prepared for war if necessary. “With all that being said, we’d certainly like to avoid it,” he added. “I know they want to make a deal,” he said of Iranian officials, whom he has been trying to draw into talks over their nuclear program. “At some point it will work out.”
Mr. Trump’s comments came shortly after a Saudi government statement said that, “Initial investigations have indicated that the weapons used in the attack were Iranian weapons.” But the Saudis stopped short of directly blaming Iran for the attack.
The Saudis called for international experts to visit and assess the evidence. Their statement said the Saudis would “forcefully respond to these aggressions.”
Mr. Trump also told reporters on Monday that he had not “promised” to protect the Saudis and that he would “sit down with the Saudis and work something out.”
Responsibility for the weekend attack was claimed by Yemen’s rebel Houthi faction. Iran is a chief ally of the Houthis.
The attack on Saturday was the most audacious and damaging blow to Saudi Arabia in the four and a half years of civil war in Yemen, and helped drive world oil prices up by about 10 percent.
But the Saudis did not directly accuse Iran of launching the strikes and refrained from calling for retaliation amid escalating tensions between Iran and the United States, which have raised fears of a wider armed conflict.
The Houthis have claimed that they carried out the attacks, and Iran has denied any involvement. But Trump administration officials have previously said that the Iranians should be held responsible for the actions of forces in the region that they support, including the Yemeni rebels.
An investigation into the strikes is still underway, but “the initial results show that they are Iranian weapons,” Col. Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen, said at a news conference in Riyadh.
“The terrorist attack was not from Yemeni territory, as the Houthi militias claimed,” he said, adding that the Saudis were still “working to determine the launch point.”
United States officials have said that Tehran was responsible and have suggested that a military response may come. But they have not said whether that meant Iran actually had a hand in directing or mounting the offensive, and offered no evidence for an Iranian role beyond satellite photos of the damage whose meaning was unclear.
The Americans, too, have cast doubt on whether the attacks were launched from Houthi territory in Yemen, far south of the targets, suggesting that they originated from the north — the direction of Iran — or northwest.
United Nations experts say that Iran has supplied the Houthis with drones and missiles that have greatly expanded their offensive capacity.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/16/worl ... i-oil.html
---------------------------------------------------------------
From ABC News:
"Iran launched nearly a dozen cruise missiles and over 20 drones from its territory in the attack on a key Saudi oil facility Saturday, a senior Trump administration official told ABC News Sunday.
It is an extraordinary charge to make, that Iran used missiles and drones to attack its neighbor and rival Saudi Arabia, as the region teeters on the edge of high tensions.
President Donald Trump warned the U.S. was "locked and loaded" to respond to the attack on Sunday, waiting for verification of who was responsible and for word from Saudi Arabia on how to proceed.
The Trump administration, in particular Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, has blamed Iran for the attack since Saturday, but so far, there's been no public accusation that Iran launched missiles.
The Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen claimed responsibility for the assault, which hit one of the world's largest oil processing facilities, hundreds of miles from the Yemen-Saudi border, and sharply impacted global oil supplies.
But a senior U.S. official told ABC News Saturday that was false: "It was Iran. The Houthis are claiming credit for something they did not do."
Pompeo tweeted that there was "no evidence the attacks came from Yemen."
The attack on the Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco also included more than 20 drones, the official said.
Iran has denied responsibility for the attack, accusing Pompeo of "max deceit," as the country's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted Saturday.
In a Sunday evening tweet, Trump did not share the definitive accusation against Iran, instead saying the U.S. had "reason to believe that we know the culprit ... but are waiting to hear from the Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia] as to who they believe was the cause of this attack."
The senior official told ABC News the president is fully aware that Iran is responsible, but he wants the Saudis to acknowledge it if they want U.S. help.
Trump promised the U.S. was "locked and loaded depending on verification" and waiting for the Saudis to say "under what terms we would proceed!"
Critics condemned Trump's threat to act, especially at the Saudis' behest. Rep. Justin Amash, of Michigan, a former Republican and now Independent, tweeted, "Under our Constitution, the power to commence war lies with Congress, not the president and certainly not Saudi Arabia. We don’t take orders from foreign powers."
Tensions have been high since Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 and strictly reimposed sanctions, including on Iran's oil industry -- its economic lifeblood.
In an escalating series of moves, Tehran has sought to counter or undermine those sanctions -- attacking a handful of oil tankers, seizing others and their crews and assaulting Saudi oil facilities, according to U.S. officials.
The risk of conflict seemed lower less than a week ago, with the departure of hawkish National Security Adviser John Bolton and Trump seeming to embrace the possibility of talks with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani at the United Nations General Assembly later this month in New York. Pompeo said Tuesday that Trump was "prepared to meet with no preconditions."
But in a reversal Sunday, Trump tweeted it was "incorrect" to say he was willing to meet without conditions, blaming the "fake news" despite his repeated statements saying so.
In July 2018, the president first said "no preconditions ... If they want to meet, I'll meet -- anytime they want."