Tehran rejects Washington’s claim of being involved in the attacks against Saudi Arabia

The latest set of drone attacks against Saudi oil facilities has sparked wide-ranging international reactions. While the US has accused Iran of being the main actor behind the attacks, Tehran denies having any role in the incident.

کد خبر: ۹۲۳۹۱۵

تاریخ: ۲۴ شهريور ۱۳۹۸ - ۱۵:۵۰

Tabnak – The latest set of drone attacks against Saudi oil facilities has sparked wide-ranging international reactions. While the US has accused Iran of being the main actor behind the attacks, Tehran denies having any role in the incident.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson rejected the claim made by the US secretary of state and an America senator that Iran has led Saturday drone strikes on Saudi oil installations, saying the allegation is part of Washington’s new policy of “maximum falsification”.

In a statement on Sunday, Abbas Mousavi dismissed the allegation raised by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and by Republican Senator Lindsay Graham against Iran after Yemeni drone attacks on Saudi company Aramco's oil processing facilities.

“The Saudi-led coalition has been fueling the flames of war in the region with recurrent acts of aggression against Yemen and committing various war crimes for around five years, while Yemenis have proved that they stand against war and aggression,” the spokesman said.

Mousavi also slammed Pompeo’s accusation against Iran as “blind and abortive comments that are obscure and meaningless within a diplomatic framework”.

He reiterated that the only way to end the crisis in Yemen and establish calm in the region is to halt the Saudi-led coalition’s attacks and invasion, cut off the Western political and military support for the aggressors, and try to find political solutions.

In the same vein, Iran’s foreign minister says Yemen’s retaliatory attacks against Saudi Arabia have prompted the Trump administration to turn to “maximum deceit” against Tehran after Washington’s so-called “maximum pressure” campaign failed.

“Having failed at "max pressure", @SecPompeo's turning to "max deceit". US & its clients are stuck in Yemen because of illusion that weapon superiority will lead to military victory. Blaming Iran won't end disaster. Accepting our April '15 proposal to end war & begin talks may,” Zarif tweeted on Sunday.

Although it’s almost certain that the Islamic Republic has nothing to do with the attacks, it doesn’t mean that they cannot impact Iran in any way. Experts say critical oil supplies lost due to Yemeni attacks on Saudi Arabia’s production plants can only be compensated if the United States eases its sanctions on sale of crude by Iran.

Sandy Fielden, an analyst at Morningstar, a global financial services firm based in the US, said on Saturday that the current oil stocks in Saudi Arabia, the biggest oil exporter in the world, would not suffice to compensate for a loss of around 5 million barrels per day (bpd) that could be caused by attacks earlier in the day targeting the kingdom’s vital oil facilities located east of the country.

Fielden said the disruptions could cause a real jump in the global oil prices, adding that the US, a main player in the oil market and an ally of the Saudis, would have no option but to allow Iran to resume its crude exports after months of a halt that has been caused by Washington's unilateral bans.

“By all accounts the Iranians have tankers full of storage ready to go,” he said, adding, “The obvious short-term fix would be waivers on Iran sanctions.”

It’s worth mentioning that the Houthis say the recent attacks were a firm response to Saudi Arabia’s relentless bombardment of Yemen, where tens of thousands of civilians have been killed since Riyadh launched its illegal military campaign four years ago.