It seems that Iran is responsible, says Trump

by Roberta Rampton and Arshad Mohammed

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – It seems that Iran is responsible for the attacks that targeted this weekend Saudi oil facilities, said Donald Trump Monday, while ensuring not wanting to declare war on anyone.

The shelling was claimed by the Houthi, a pro-Iranian Shiite movement that holds most of Yemen, but, according to the Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting them since 2015, early evidence shows that these are Iranian weapons that were used.

Several members of the US administration, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, blamed them on Tehran, who denies responsibility.

Asked at a press conference to say whether he considered Iran responsible for Saturday's attacks, the US president replied: "This certainly seems to be the case at this stage (…) As soon as we will have definitive conclusions, we will inform you, but that seems to be the case ".

"We have a lot of options, but I'm not looking for an option at this point, we want to find out who did this, we are in contact with Saudi Arabia, we are in contact with the Crown Prince (Mohamed ben Salman ) and several of his neighbors.We are talking about this all together.We will see what will happen, "he continued.

"I am not someone who loves war, no, I do not want a war with anyone but I am better prepared than anyone."

Oil prices jumped 19% in trading on Monday on the New York Stock Exchange, which had not happened since the first Gulf War in 1991. They then pulled back to close up a little over 14%, when the president again mentioned a possible use of strategic reserves.

According to early reports released Monday by the Saudi-led coalition, Saturday's attacks were carried out using Iranian weapons and were not launched from Yemen.

"SELF-DEFENSE"

"The preliminary results show that the weapons are Iranian and we are currently working on determining the location (…) The terrorist attack did not come from Yemen, as claimed by the Houthi militia," said Colonel Turki al Malki, spokesman for the coalition, during a press conference in Riyadh.

Regional experts and the UN will be invited to investigate, has also announced the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"The kingdom is able to defend its territory and its people, as to react strongly to these attacks," he adds.

The Iranian threats not only affect Saudi Arabia, but the entire Middle East and the world, for its part has underlined Prince Mohamed ben Salman, heir to the throne, in a telephone interview with the US Secretary of State. Defense Mark Esper, according to the SPA press agency.

While visiting Ankara for a summit on Syria, Iranian President Hassan Rohani said that "Yemenis have exercised their right to self-defense".

"The attacks are a response to the aggression that has been going on for years in Yemen," he added.

Donald Trump assured Sunday that the United States was ready to retaliate and authorized the use of strategic oil reserves. The attack on the facilities of the Saudi oil company Aramco, halved the kingdom's oil production and led to a 5% drop in global production.

Aramco may need "several months" to return to normal production, according to two sources close to the Saudi oil giant.

Recognizing the unprecedented scope of the attacks, which targeted the world's largest crude processing plant in Abkaïk, the Ryad authorities have not put forward any delay before the resumption of production.

The Saudi company's facilities remain a target and could be attacked again "at any time," a Houthi spokesperson told Twitter.

Responding specifically to US threats, Russian diplomacy on Monday deemed it unacceptable to raise reprisals and denounced a "counterproductive" attitude likely to fuel tensions.

"The threat of retaliation, as it seems to have been raised in Washington, is all the more unacceptable," says the Russian Foreign Ministry.

(Arthur Connan, Nicolas Delame and Jean-Philippe Lefief for French service, edited by Sophie Louet and Jean-Michel Belot)