Trump says US ‘locked and loaded’ after attack on Saudi oil
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U.S. 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 United States has issued satellite images and cited intelligence to back its claim that Iran was behind attacks on Saudi oil facilities.
Iran denies involvement in Saturday’s air attacks, which were claimed by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
But unnamed US officials speaking to US and international media say the direction and extent of the attacks cast doubt on Houthi involvement.
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!”
Saudi Arabia oil supply was attacked. 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!
Trump also authorised the use of the U.S. emergency oil stockpile to ensure stable supplies after the attack, which shut 5% of world production.
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.”
Revolutionary Guards commander warned that the Islamic Republic was ready for “full-fledged” war.
“All American bases and their aircraft carriers in a distance of up to 2,000 kilometres around Iran are within the range of our missiles,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Commander Amirali Hajizadeh as saying.
