The price of oil has risen by more than 10% after the past weekend’s attacks on the two Abqaiq oil refineries in Saudi Arabia—the world’s largest—which destroyed an estimated 5% of the world’s oil production. According to Business Insider, the price of Brent oil has already surged from $60 to $68, before coming down somewhat.
According to Reuters, Saudi Arabian energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Sunday that the attacks on the oil facilities have halted his country’s crude and gas production “partially.” Saudi Arabia is the world’s top oil exporter.
Saudi Arabia says it has contained a fires after two large facilities were attacked with drones: the Abqaiq processing center and the Khurais oilfield (video is Abqaiq) | ?? ⛽️? https://t.co/giszwoMSFB pic.twitter.com/F3CBdYXaQG
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas)
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.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo)
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted on Saturday that “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.”
Iran, for its part, warned the US that its bases and aircraft carriers are within range of its missiles, should the US decide to retaliate for the drone attacks in Saudi Arabia.
Secretary Pompeo tweeted: “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.”
Fox News’s Rebecca Grant wrote on Monday that “only the Iranians, the world’s worst diplomats, would mastermind a significant attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities just days before the United Nations General Assembly opens,” and pointed out that “the attack Saturday on the Saudi oil facilities was the second recent strike against the Saudi Aramco oil company. On Aug. 17, 20 drones hit the Shaybah liquid natural gas facility in Saudi Arabia, causing a small fire.”
Grant cited US officials who said that seventeen points of impact were precisely targeted, an operation that required a surveillance and planning capacity “of a whole new level of sophistication.”
Finally, Iran’s foreign ministry dismissed any lingering speculations that President Rouhani and President Trump would meet and hold talks during Rouhani’s stay in New York for the upcoming UN General Assembly. “There is no such program on our agenda, and the meeting will not happen in New York,” a ministry spokesperson stressed.