Trump says ‘no rush’ to respond to attacks on Saudi oil facilities
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Monday that it appears Iran was behind air attacks on two major Saudi Arabian oil facilities, but he emphasized that he wants to avoid a new Middle East war even as he stressed that the U.S. military is ready for action.
Trump also appeared to look for a way to ease the latest tensions, saying “diplomacy is never exhausted” and that he was in “no rush” to decide on a response.
For its part, Iran denied responsibility for the attacks and ruled out a potential meeting between Trump and Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly next week in New York, closing off a potential highlevel outlet to resolve the crisis.
The predawn attacks Saturday caused a spike in global energy prices, with oil up nearly 15 percent on Monday, and the Brent benchmark seeing its biggest jump in about 30 years, rattling stock markets.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper and other senior officials briefed Trump at the White House on what Esper called “this unprecedented attack.” Esper also spoke by phone with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, and Iraq’s minister of defense, Najah Shammari.
The depleted White House national security team – Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, was abruptly ousted last week – scrambled to present options to the president as intelligence agencies reviewed satellite photos and other data to try to confirm the source of the attack, which U.S. officials believe involved explosives-laden drones and possibly cruise missiles.
The chief target was the oil processing facility at Abqaiq, which is responsible for half of Saudi Arabia’s daily exports and is the world’s largest oil processing site. Damage was also reported farther west at the Khurais oil field, where there were fires. Both facilities are operated by energy giant Saudi Aramco.
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday that the attack involved “Iranian weapons” but provided no details. No one was injured in the attacks, and Saudi officials said the fires were quickly brought under control.
Analysts documented multiple impacts at Abqaiq – mostly in spheroidshaped structures – and at Khurais. A senior administration official said “multiple long-range precision-guided systems” were involved and the attack appeared to come from the north or northwest, suggesting weapons were launched from Iraq or Iran.
Houthi rebels in Yemen, which is hundreds of miles south of the Saudi oil fields, claimed responsibility on Saturday, saying they had launched 10 drones. But the Iran-backed militias have never conducted such long-range cross-border attacks in the past.
Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo pointed the finger at Iran over the weekend.
“Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply,” he tweeted. “There is no evidence the attacks came from Yemen.”
But Trump appeared less sure when he met with reporters at the White House.
“It’s looking that way,” he said. “As soon as we find out definitively, we’ll let you know.”
Trump said the U.S. would help Saudi Arabia, but he was equivocal when pressed about the possibility of authorizing military action.
“That was an attack on Saudi Arabia, that wasn’t an attack on us,” he said.
“If we decide to do something, they’ll be very much involved, and that includes payment,” he added. “And they understand that fully.”
Asked if he has promised the Saudis that the United States will protect them, he said, “No, I haven’t promised the Saudis that . ... We have to sit down with the Saudis and work something out.”