Saudi ambassador to UK: Attacks on oil facilities almost certainly Iran-backed

Saudi ambassador to UK: Attacks on oil facilities almost certainly Iran-backed
September 18, 2019, 7:36 am

“Almost certainly it’s Iranian-backed,” Prince Khalid bin Bander bin Sultan Al Saud told the BBC. (File photo AFP)

Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to UK said on Wednesday that Iran was “almost certainly” behind the attacks on Saudi oil facilities.

“Almost certainly it’s Iranian-backed,” Prince Khalid bin Bander bin Sultan Al Saud told the BBC. “We’re trying not to react too quickly because the last thing we need is more conflict in the region.”

“We’re investigating the issue. We’re working with our partners in the US, the UN, the UK, and anyone else who wants to get involved, to help us resolve what happened, figure out what happened, where they came from, the attack.”

Prince Khalid said the attacks have not only impacted Saudi Arabia, but the global economy as well.

“ produces more oil than almost the whole region produces otherwise,” he said, “So this is a blow for the world and the world economy, not just Saudi Arabia.”

The US believes the attacks that crippled Saudi Arabian oil facilities last weekend originated in southwestern Iran, a US official told Reuters, an assessment that further increases tension in the Middle East.

Reuters

Rouhani says ‘Yemenis’ attacked Saudi oil facilities as a ‘warning’ Iran warns against any attack, says ‘response won’t be limited to its source’