Iran droney baloney
Denies Saudi strike, warns of retaliation
Iran on Sunday denied that it was behind the weekend drone attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities — even as a top commander threatened to strike American bases in the Middle East with ballistic missiles.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had blamed Iran for the Saturday attack, which halved the kingdom’s oil production, calling it “an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply.”
But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi called Pompeo’s remarks “blind and futile comments.”
“The Americans adopted the ‘maximum pressure’ policy against Iran, which, due to its failure, is leaning towards ‘maximum lies,’ ” Mousavi said in a statement denying any involvement.
Meanwhile, Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh told state-run media that Revolutionary Guard forces were prepared to retaliate if the US responds militarily — and laid out as targets bases in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Navy ships in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea.
“Wherever they are, it only takes one spark and we hit their vessels, their air bases, their troops,” Hajizadeh said.
President Trump tweeted on Sunday evening that the United States is “locked and loaded” following the strike.
“Saudi Arabia oil supply was attacked,” Trump wrote. “There is reason to believe that we know the culprit, are locked and loaded depending on verification, but are waiting to hear from the Kingdom as to who they believe was the cause of this attack.”
The saber-rattling came as Sen. Lindsey Graham on Twitter called for the United States to punish Iran for the attacks.
“It is now time for the US to put on the table an attack on Iranian oil refineries if they continue their provocations or increase nuclear enrichment,” the South Carolina Republican said.
White House aide Kellyanne Conway said the administration will “keep many options on the table” but wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani meeting this month at the UN General Assembly to discuss sanctions and the 2015 nuclear deal.
Leaders of the Iranian-backed Houthi rebel group claim they launched drones from Yemen 500 miles into Saudi Arabia as part of a coordinated attack on the Abqaiq refinery — the world’s largest — and the Khurais oil field early Saturday morning.
Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company that operates the facilities, said the attacks interrupted the production of 5.7 million barrels of crude, which represents about 5 percent of the world’s daily production.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said the drop in output would be made up by tapping stockpiles.
The US and its allies accuse Iran of providing weapons and support to the Houthi insurgents in Yemen as they battle Saudicoalition forces in clashes that have led to whole cities being destroyed and the deaths of thousands of people.
Washington has been supplying the Saudis with advanced arms and technology.
Trump on Saturday spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to offer support.