Saudi Arabia says the attacks on plants came from the 'north' and were sponsored by Iran
Saudi Colonel Turki bin Saleh al-Malki presenting the evidence. Pic/AFP
Tehran: Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday that strikes on its oil infrastructure came from the "north" and were sponsored by Iran, but added the kingdom was still investigating the exact launch site.
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"The attack was launched from the north and unquestionably sponsored by Iran. We are working to know the exact launch point," defence ministry spokesman and Saudi Colonel Turki bin Saleh al-Malki said.
At a press meet in Riyadh on Wednesday, the Colonel displayed pieces of what he said were Iranian cruise missiles and drones recovered from the attack site that targeted Saudi Aramco's facilities.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced what he said would be substantial new sanctions against Iran in the first response to what US officials say was likely Iranian involvement in an attack on Saudi oil facilities.
"I have just instructed the Secretary of the Treasury to substantially increase Sanctions on the country of Iran!" Trump said in a tweet. The US already enforces widespread sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy, including attempting to shut down its major oil export industry. There were no immediate details on what the new measures might be.
Iran Prez: Yemenis attacked oil sites as warning of war
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday said Yemenis targeted Saudi oil facilities as a "warning" about a possible wider war in response to the kingdom's US-backed intervention in their conflict-ravaged country. "The Yemenis haven't hit a hospital, a school, Sanaa bazaar. They just hit an industrial centre... to warn you," Rouhani said. "Learn lessons from this warning and consider that there could be a war in the region," he said, in a likely address to the rulers of Saudi Arabia.
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