Iran denies US allegations that it was behind drone attack on Saudi oil field

Smoke is seen following a fire at an Aramco factory in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia, September 14, 2019 | Reuters

Iran responded to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s charge that the country was behind the Saturday drone attacks on Saudi Aramco’s biggest oil processing facility in Abqaiq and Khurais, calling the allegations ‘meaningless’ targeted remarks to damage the reputation of Iran.

In a statement, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abbas Mousavi said, “Such fruitless and blind accusations and remarks are incomprehensible and meaningless”, adding that “Such remarks... are more like plotting by intelligence and secret organisations to damage the reputation of a country and create a framework for future actions.”

Earlier, Pompeo blamed Iran for the attacks on Twitter, calling it an “unprecedented attack on the global world’s energy supply”, adding that Tehran was behind “nearly 100 attacks” on Saudi Arabia while Preisdent Hassan Roughani and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif “pretend to engage in diplomacy.”

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The Wall Street Journal now reports that the US in investigating the possibility that cruise missiles fired from Iran or Iraq were part of the attack.

The attack, claimed by Yemeni Houthi rebels, has resulted in half of Saudi Arabia’s oil production being disrupted, interrupting an estimated 5.7 million barrels of crude supplies, roughly five per cent of global oil production. In a statement by Saudi Aramco, the company claimed the fires “were controlled” and that the interrupted supplies would be offset with stockpiles.

The rebels said they used ten drones in a coordinated attack to target the complex.

The Houthi rebels have been at war against a Saudi-led coalition since 2015. Saudi Arabia has long accused Iran of backing the rebel forces, with AP citing UN investigators saying that the rebel’s UAV-X drone has a range of up to 1,500km, which would allow it to reach Saudi oilfields from as far as Yemen.

The attack is likely to raise tensions between Western allies and Iran, amidst existing fears that global oil supply in the Strait of Hormuz would be affected by deteriorating US-Iran relations.

Emkay Global Financial Solutions warned that oil prices could rise by $5-7 on Monday when markets reopen in the wake of Saudi Arabia cutting its supply. The U.S. Energy Department announced that it was ready to deploy reserve supplies of oil to offest disruption to global oil supply from the attack.

In June, the US briefly overtook Saudi Arabia to become the world’s largest producer of oil, thanks to its booming shale gas production.

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