RIYADH – In a telephonic conversation with US President Donald Trump, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman has said that the Kingdom is “willing and able” to respond to latest drone attacks by Yemeni rebels on its oil facilities.
President Trump told the Saudi Crown Prince that Washington was ready to cooperate with the Kingdom to ensure its security in the wake of drone attacks.
US President Donald Trump also called, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, on Saturday, after two oil refineries in the Saudi provinces of Abqaiq and Khurais, belonging to Saudi Aramco state-owned company were attacked by the Yemeni Houthi movement.
Trump affirmed Washington’s readiness to cooperate with Riyadh to maintain its security and stability, noting the negative effects of the attacks, claimed by the Houthis, not only on the US economy but on the global economy as a whole.
Salman bin Abdulaziz, in his turn, emphasized Saudi Arabia’s willingness and potential to fight terrorism.
Drone attacks caused massive fires at two Saudi Aramco’s oil facilities overnight into Saturday. The fires, in particular, hit the Abqaiq oil refinery, Eastern Province and an oil-processing facility near Khurais oil field, located about 100 miles east of Riyadh.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/world/drone-attacks-cause-massive-fire-at-two-saudi-oil-facilities/
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo holds Iran for the attacks and said that Washington strongly condemned Iran’s drone attacks on oil refineries in Saudi Arabia.
“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. 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,” Pompeo wrote on Twitter.
The recent drone attacks on two oil facilities belonging to the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) interrupted the production of 5.7 million barrels of oil per day, the state-owned oil giant announced on Sunday.
The company said in a statement that “Saudi Aramco emergency crews contained fires at its plants in Abqaiq and Khurais, as a result of terrorist attacks with projectiles. These attacks resulted in production suspension of 5.7 million barrels of crude oil per day.”
