US backs KSA’s right to defend itself
America stands with Saudi Arabia and Iran’s threatening behavior will not be accepted: Mike Pompeo Pakistan fully supports the Kingdom with all its capacities in confronting sabotage acts, says PM Khan
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that America backs Saudi Arabia’s “right to defend itself ” following the Sept. 14 attacks that targeted the heart of its oil industry.
Pompeo’s comments on Twitter came as he met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah. Pompeo called the attacks “unprecedented.”
“The US stands with #SaudiArabia and supports its right to defend itself,” Pompeo said. “The Iranian regime’s threatening behavior will not be tolerated.” Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Germany, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, told Deutschlandfunk radio that the Kingdom was still discussing how it should react to the attacks.
“I won’t say right now that a military strike is being considered,” the prince said. “It depends upon how the world community deals with this topic.”
After meeting with allies in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, Pompeo said there was an “enormous consensus aimed at achieving peace. I hope the Islamic Republic of Iran sees it the same way.”
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed his country’s full support to Saudi Arabia.
“Pakistan fully supports the Kingdom with all its capacities in confronting these sabotage acts,” he said. He held separate meetings with King Salman and the crown prince in Jeddah. The king stressed that the Kingdom is capable of dealing with the criminal acts that target the security and stability of the region and global energy supplies. Meanwhile, CBS News reported, citing an unnamed US official, that Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei approved the attack. CBS said Khamenei approved the attack only on condition that it be carried out in a way to deny Iranian involvement. US officials said the most damning evidence against Iran is unreleased satellite photos showing Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps making preparations for the attack at Iran’s Ahvaz air base.
Iran, which has denied involvement in the attack, warned the US it will retaliate immediately if it is targeted.
Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in Saudi Arabia’s southern neighbor Yemen have claimed responsibility for the attacks but French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said this “lacks credibility.”
The UAE followed Saudi Arabia in joining a US-led force to protect Gulf shipping. Salem Al-Zaabi of the Emirati Foreign Ministry said the UAE joined the coalition to “ensure global energy security and the continued flow of energy supplies to the global economy.”