Pompeo blames Iran for Saudi oil facility attack as Trump seeks to assure markets
President Donald Trump on Saturday delivered assurances on the stability of global oil markets following an attack on a major Saudi Arabian oil facility that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed squarely on Iran.
Trump called Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to offer support for the kingdom’s defense after Iranian-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the drone attack on the world’s largest oil processing facility, adversely affecting up to half of the supplies from the world’s biggest oil exporter.
"The United States strongly condemns today’s attack on critical energy infrastructure. Violent actions against civilian areas and infrastructure vital to the global economy only deepen conflict and mistrust. The United States Government is monitoring the situation and remains committed to ensuring global oil markets are stable and well supplied," White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere said in a statement, citing negative impacts on the U.S. and global economy.
The Department of Energy said in a statement that Sec. Rick Perry “stands ready to deploy resources from the Strategic Petroleum Oil Reserves (SPRO) if necessary to offset any disruptions to oil markets as a result of this act of aggression.”
Bin Salman said Saudi Arabia is “willing and able to confront and deal with this terrorist aggression,” according to a news release from the Saudi Embassy in Washington.
Pompeo later Saturday blamed Iran for the attack, saying there was no evidence the drones used in the attack originated in Yemen.
"Tehran is behind nearly 100 attacks on Saudi Arabia while Rouhani and Zarif pretend to engage in diplomacy. 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," Pompeo wrote on Twitter.
"We call on all nations to publicly and unequivocally condemn Iran’s attacks. The United States will work with our partners and allies to ensure that energy markets remain well supplied and Iran is held accountable for its aggression," Pompeo continued.
But Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, denounced Pompeo's characterization of the actors involved in the attack.
"This is such irresponsible simplification and it’s how we get into dumb wars of choice. The Saudis and Houthis are at war. The Saudis attack the Houthis and the Houthis attack back. Iran is backing the Houthis and has been a bad actor, but it’s just not as simple as Houthis=Iran," Murphy wrote.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a foreign policy hawk and Trump ally, said the attack is "another example of how Iran is wreaking havoc in the Middle East," and called for retribution against Iran.
"It is now time for the U.S. to put on the table an attack on Iranian oil refineries if they continue their provocations or increase nuclear enrichment," Graham wrote. "Iran will not stop their misbehavior until the consequences become more real, like attacking their refineries, which will break the regime’s back."
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.
The attack by the Houthis in the ongoing war against a Saudi-led coalition comes after repeated drone assaults on the kingdom’s oil infrastructure, heightening existing tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
The attacks also come a week after Trump said he was open to meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the upcoming U.N. General Assembly in New York.
