President Donald Trump on Sunday said the United States was “locked and loaded” following a drone attack on a major Saudi Arabian oil facility, which the Trump administration is blaming on Iran.
The attack has cut into global energy supplies by halving the kingdom’s oil production.
“Saudi Arabia oil supply was attacked,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “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, and under what terms we would proceed!”
The president’s tweet follows Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s assertion Saturday that Iran was squarely to blame for the attack on key Saudi oil infrastructure, and comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S.
“Tehran is behind nearly 100 attacks on Saudi Arabia while Rouhani and Zarif pretend to engage in diplomacy,” Pompeo wrote on Twitter. “Amid all the calls for de-escalation, Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply. There is no evidence the attacks came from Yemen.”
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway echoed those sentiments. “The Iranian regime is responsible for this attack on civilian areas and infrastructure vital to our global energy supply and we’re not going to stand for that,” she said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Iran has denied responsibility.
Also Sunday, Trump took to Twitter to announce that he authorized the use of oil from the U.S. strategic petroleum reserve to “keep the markets well-supplied,” if needed. Additionally, he continued to assure the stability of global oil markets by tweeting, “PLENTY OF OIL!”
State-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco describes its Abqaiq oil processing facility in Buqyaq as “the largest crude oil stabilization plant in the world,” according to the Associated Press. Prices on crude oil futures rose in trading Sunday night.
Source: politico.com
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