Iran dismissed accusations by the United States that it was behind attacks on Saudi oil plants that risk disrupting global energy supplies and warned on Sunday that US bases and aircraft carriers in the region were in the range of its missiles. Yemen’s Houthi group claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attacks that knocked out more than half of Saudi oil output or more than 5% of global supply, but U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the assault was the work of Iran, a Houthi ally. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi, speaking on state TV, dismissed the U.S. allegation as “pointless”. A senior Revolutionary Guards commander warned that the Islamic Republic was ready for a “full-fledged” war.
“Everybody should know that all American bases and their aircraft carriers in a distance of up to 2,000 kilometers around Iran are within the range of our missiles,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted commander Amirali Hajizadeh as saying. State oil giant Saudi Aramco said the attack cut output by 5.7 million barrels per day. Aramco gave no timeline for output resumption but said early on Sunday it would give a progress update in around 48 hours. The kingdom, the world’s top oil exporter, ships more than 7 million barrels of oil to global destinations every day. Aramco told one Indian refinery that it would deliver crude from other sources and had adequate inventory, a refinery source said. Riyadh said it would compensate for the loss by drawing on its stocks which stood at 188 million barrels in June, according to official data. The United States said it was also ready to tap emergency oil reserves if needed.
“UNPRECEDENTED ATTACK”
According to U.S. government information, 15 structures at Abqaiq suffered damage on their west-northwest facing sides. Pompeo said there was no evidence the attack came from Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition has been battling the Houthis for over four years. “Amid all the calls for de-escalation, Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply,” he said.
Regional tensions have escalated since Washington quit an international nuclear deal and extended sanctions on Iran to choke off its vital oil exports. The European Union warned that Saturday’s attack posed a real threat to regional security and France said such actions could only worsen the “risk of conflict”. Iran’s ally Turkey called for the avoidance of “provocative steps”.
Follow us on Twitter – twitter.com/StarvisionN
Like & Follow us on Facebook – www.facebook.com/starvisionnewsenglish
