Saudi Arabia Defence ministry said strikes on its oil infrastructure came from the “north” and were “unquestionably” sponsored by Iran, but the kingdom was still investigating where exactly they were launched from.
Showing debris from the alleged weapons used at a press conference, a defence ministry spokesman said there was no way the attacks could have been launched from Yemen, as claimed by the Iran-aligned rebels.
Colonel Turki al-Malki said the recovered drone and missile parts provided “undeniable” evidence of Iranian aggression.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States supports Saudi Arabia’s “right to defend itself” and that Iran’s behaviour would “not be tolerated”, in a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman .
Pompeo supported the Saudis’ call for international experts to travel to the country to investigate, the Saudi news agency SPA said in a statement.
In the meeting, MBS told Pompeo the attacks on state oil company Saudi Aramco were aimed at destabilising security in the region and damaging the global supply of energy.
Speaking to reporters on his way to Jeddah, Pompeo had described the raids on key Saudi oil installations as an “act of war” and reiterated that it was an “Iranian attack”.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have been locked in a war with a Saudi-UAE-led coalition since 2015, has claimed responsibility for the attacks, warning Saudi Arabia that their targets “will keep expanding”.
But Saudi and US officials have said that evidence shows Iranian involvement.
