- BREAKING: Trump Authorizes Release of Oil
From Strategic Petroleum Reserve Amid Attacks Against Saudi Aramco
© REUTERS / U.S. Navy
09:27 15.09.2019(updated 17:55
15.09.2019)
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The statement comes as US Secretary
of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday blamed Iran for recent drone attacks on Saudi
Aramco's oil fields, urging the international community "to publicly and
unequivocally condemn Iran’s attacks".
Tehran has always been prepared for
a full-fledged war, Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps Aerospace Force
Chief Amirali Hajizadeh said in a statement on Sunday, just a day after two
drone attacks on oilfields in Saudi Arabia, which were claimed by Houthis and
blamed by the US and Saudi Arabia on Tehran.
“Everybody should know
that all American bases and their aircraft carriers, at a distance of up to
2,000 kilometres around Iran, are within the range of our missiles,” Hajizadeh
said.
According to Hajizadeh, the Iranian
military are ready to target two US bases and one carrier in the event of an
armed conflict.
"Al-Udeid base in
Qatar, az-Zafra base in the UAE and a US vessel in the Gulf of Oman would be
targeted if Washington took military action," the commander said.
Global Community Condemns Drone
Attacks on Saudi Arabia
Saturday's drone attacks on Saudi
Aramco factories prompted the United States to accuse Iran of being behind the
incident.
US Senator Lindsey Graham accused
the Islamic Republic of looking to “wreak havoc in the Middle East”, and
recommend that the US “put on the table an attack on Iranian oil refineries if
they continue their provocations”.
Moreover, US Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo pinned the blame on Tehran over the
attacks calling for public condemnation of Iran's actions.
Reacting to the accusations, the
Iranian Foreign Ministry's spokesman Abbas Mousavi has condemned Mike Pompeo's
recent statement on Iran's involvement in the drones attack against Saudi
Aramco oil facilities in the kingdom, calling them a lie.
"The US policy of
exerting "maximum pressure", that apparently failed, veered towards
"maximum lie" policy," Mousavi said.
In the meantime, Saudi Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Trump during the phone call
that the kingdom was willing and able to confront and deal with this
"terrorist aggression."
Meanwhile, the French Foreign
Ministry also decried the attacks on Saudi oil facilities, expressing
"full solidarity" with Riyadh.
"These actions can
only worsen regional tensions and risk of conflict," the ministry said.
"It is imperative that they stop."
Drone Attacks on Saudi Oilfields
On Saturday, two drone attacks,
claimed by Houthis, caused major fires in two oil facilities: in Abqaiq in
eastern Saudia Arabia and Khurais northeast of Riyadh. These were eventually
contained by security and emergency service personnel. According to the
Saudi energy minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, oil production at the two
plants has temporarily stopped, interrupting about half of the
company's total daily oil output.
Yemen's Houthi movement has been
launching drone attacks against Saudi Arabia's infrastructure and military
facilities in response to the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen, which began
in March 2015, aiming to restore the government of President Abdrabbuh Mansour
Hadi.
Both Riyadh and Washington claimed
that Houthis have been receiving Iranian military assistance. Tehran has
repeatedly rejected these allegations, citing the naval blockade which has been
in place against the southern Arabian country since 2015.
Tensions in the Gulf
Tensions have been running high in
the Persian Gulf since the Trump administration withdrew last year from the Iran
nuclear deal, and then hit Iranian industries with new sanctions, prompting
Tehran to take advantage of treaty backstops to increase its supply of
low-enriched uranium.
The situation came to a boiling
point this year after alleged attacks on two US oil tankers in the
vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz in June. Washington accused Iran of the
incident, while Tehran vehemently denied its involvement. A week later, a US
drone was downed by Tehran; Iran insisted that the aircraft violated its airspace,
prompting Washington to introduce sanctions against the nation's Supreme
Leader Ali Khamenei.
The situation further exacerbated
after Adrian Darya 1 tanker, formerly known as Grace 1 was detained off
Gibraltar. It was released on 15 August after it had been held for a
month. A Gibraltar court ordered the release of the ship despite a
last-minute request by the US to extend its detention in view of differences in
US and European sanctions against Iran.
Amid the arrest of Darya 1, Iranian
authorities detained oil tanker Stena Impero on 19 July over alleged maritime violations.
Tehran stressed that the arrest was not retaliation for the seizure of Iranian
oil tanker Grace 1 by UK overseas territory Gibraltar earlier the same month.
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