British PM accuses Iran of being behind Saudi oil attacks

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has accused Iran of being behind last week’s attacks on two major oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.

News ID: 447258

Date: 24 September 2019 - 21:47

RNA - Johnson said the UK would work with the United States and European allies on a joint response to the attacks on the two facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais.

“The UK is attributing responsibility with a very high degree of probability to Iran for the Aramco attacks. We think it very likely indeed that Iran was indeed responsible,” Johnson told reporters Monday on the plane while flying to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly.

“We will be working with our American friends and our European friends to construct a response that tries to deescalate tensions in the Gulf region.”

The attacks by Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah fighters on September 14 led to a halt in about 50 percent of the Arab kingdom’s crude and gas production, causing a surge in oil prices.

The United States and Saudi Arabia have accused Iran of carrying out the attacks on Aramco installations. Tehran, however, has rejected the allegations with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, saying the new Saudi military operation in Yemen is a clear indication that Riyadh itself does not believe the story about Iran's involvement.

The US-backed Saudi air campaign against neighboring Yemen has so far killed thousands of civilians, caused millions to leave or lose their homes, and sparked widespread starvation.

The Yemeni army and volunteer forces led by the country’s popular Houthi movement have attacked refineries in Saudi Arabia in the past in efforts to strike at the regime’s major economic sector. The latest attack, however, hit targets that were about 500 miles deep into the Saudi territory, in one of the largest operations the Yemeni forces have launched so far.

When asked whether London would rule out military action, Johnson told reporters that Britain would consider a proposal by Washington to help defend Riyadh.

“Clearly if we are asked, either by the Saudis or by the Americans, to have a role, then we will consider in what way we could be useful.”

Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab made the same accusations against Iran on Twitter.

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