US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran on Saturday of “an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply,” and called on the international community to join him in condemning the Islamic Republic for the attack.
Pompeo directly blamed the Islamic Republic for an attack on two Saudi Aramco oil facilities that led to the shutdown of about half of Saudi Arabia’s oil production this weekend.
Saudi Oil Output Drops 50% After Houthi Attack on Crude Processing Facilities
Pompeo said in a statement posted Saturday on the Twitter social networking site, “Tehran is behind nearly 100 attacks on Saudi Arabia while [Iranian President Hassan] Rouhani and [Iranian Foreign Minister Javad] 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.”
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
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo)
The news first broke in an exclusive report by The Wall Street Journal earlier in the day.
Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter, producing approximately 10 percent of the global oil supply — some 100 million barrels of crude oil per day.
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen had claimed responsibility for the attack, which they said was carried out using 10 drones to target state-owned Saudi Aramco oil facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais, according to the Houthi-run Al-Masirah news agency.
Pompeo said, however, there was no evidence to back up Houthi claims of responsibility.
“We call on all nations to publicly and unequivocally condemn Iran’s attacks,” Pompeo said in a second tweet. “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.”