IRAN REJECTS U.S. ATTACK ACCUSATION
American bases within range of our missiles, warns Revolutionary Guards commander
IRAN dismissed accusations by the United States that it was behind attacks on Saudi oil plants that disrupted world oil production and warned on Sunday that US bases and aircraft carriers in the region were in range of its missiles.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group claimed responsibility for
Saturday’s attacks that knocked out more than half of Saudi oil output. But US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there was no evidence the attacks came from Yemen and accused Iran of “an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply”.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi, speaking on state TV, dismissed the US claim as “pointless”.
A senior Revolutionary Guards commander warned that the Islamic Republic was ready for “full-fledged” war and that US military assets were within range of Iranian missiles.
“Everybody should know that all American bases and their aircraft carriers in a distance of up to 2,000km around Iran are within the range of our missiles,” the head of the Revolutionary Guards Corps Aerospace Force Amirali Hajizadeh was quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
State-run oil company Saudi Aramco said the strikes would cut output by 5.7 million barrels per day, or more than five per cent of global crude supply, at a time when Aramco is gearing up for a stock market listing.
A source said the return to full oil capacity could take “weeks, not days”.
The US said it was ready to tap its emergency oil reserves if needed after the attack on two oil plants, including the world’s biggest petroleum processing facility in Abqaiq.
Saudi authorities have yet to directly blame any party for Saturday’s pre-dawn strikes, which they said involved drones, but the energy minister linked it to a series of attacks on Saudi oil assets and tankers in Gulf waters.
Pompeo said there was no evidence the attacks came from Yemen, where a Saudi-led military coalition has been battling the Houthis for over four years.
Riyadh has accused Iran and its proxies of being behind previous attacks claimed by the Houthis on oil pumping stations and Shaybah oilfield, charges Teheran denies.
Some Iraqi media outlets said the attack originated from Iraq, where Iran-backed paramilitary groups have wielded increasing power, but Iraq denied this yesterday and vowed to punish anyone who intended to use Iraq as a launchpad for attacks.
Saudi de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed Salman told Trump on Saturday that Riyadh was willing and able to deal with the “terrorist aggression”.
Turkey, an ally of Iran, condemned the attack but called for avoiding “all sorts of provocative steps” that could damage regional security and stability.
A senior Emirati official said the UAE, Riyadh’s main partner in the Western-backed military coalition in Yemen, would fully support Saudi Arabia as the assault “targets us all”.