United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres announced that so far the world body’s investigators have come to no substantial piece of evidence to support anti-Iran allegations made by the US and Saudi Arabia which blame Tehran for attack on Saudi oil facilities in September. RNA - Guterres announced in a report on Tuesday the world body’s investigators are “unable to independently corroborate” the US and Saudi claims that Iran was behind attacks on the kingdom's Aramco oil facilities in September.
He added that all the debris from the weapons used against Saudi Arabia’s state oil company Aramco had been examined and the UN could not yet verify anti-Iran claims made by Washington and Riyadh.
“At this time, it is unable to independently corroborate that the cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles used in these attacks are of Iranian origin,” Guterres wrote in his semi-annual Iran report to the Security Council.
The UN chief added that the world body is “still collecting and analyzing additional information on these cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles” and would report additional findings in “due course”.
The attacks, which hit Aramco’s oil facilities in Khurais and Abqaiq in East of Saudi Arabia on September 14, were claimed by Yemen’s Houthi Ansartullah movement but the kingdom and the US were adamant to blame it on Iran without evidence.
Iran has rejected the allegations of any involvement and said the attack was a legitimate act of self-defense by Yemen, which has been under incessant strikes by the Saudi-led coalition since 2015.
The attacks cut nearly half of Saudi Arabia’s total oil production and sent shockwaves across the global markets.
Saudi Arabia has constantly denied the attacks would have any impact on the kingdom’s finances, with the government estimating that GDP growth would stand at around 1.9% at the end of 2019.
One of the reasons why Saudi Arabia and the US raise allegations against Iran is "their endangered prestige", Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi stated at the time, adding, "It is hard for Riyadh to accept that the Yemeni nation suddenly hits a heavy blow to Saudi Arabia after 5 years of resistance and gradually attains high defense capabilities empty-handed."
Russian and China, Tehran's two important allies, have recommended against rushing to conclusions about the party responsible for the strikes on the Riyadh-owned facilities. Japan noted that Tokyo has not seen any intelligence that shows Iran was involved in the incident.
Also Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had in numerous occasions repeated that Tehran had no role in the massive drone attacks on Saudi oil installations, adding that all European leaders whom he met with in New York, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assmbly, had told him that there was no proof to support accusations against Iran.
Later, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Deputy Commander for Coordination Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi said that the US and Europeans' accusations about Iran's involvement in the Yemenis' drone attacks on the Saudi oil facility are meant to divert public attention from the power of the resistance forces in the region.
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