Iran denied accusations from the United States that Tehran is behind drone attacks against Saudi Arabia’s Aramco oil facilities, spokesperson of Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abbas Mousavi, said on Sunday.
Mousavi said that the accusations are baseless, meaningless, incomprehensible, and aim to provide a pretext for “future actions” against the Islamic republic.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed on Saturday Iran for the attacks saying that “Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply.”
On Friday, drones attacked two Aramco facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais causing fires which were put out by Saudi security forces, according to Saudi official statements.
The accusations came despite pro-Iranian Houthi rebels claiming responsibility for the attack, but Pompeo said there was “no evidence that the attack was launched from Yemen.”
“The US will work with our partners and allies to ensure that energy markets remain well supplied and Iran is held accountable for its aggression,” the top US diplomat added.
Some media outlets quoted experts suggesting that the attack was carried out by drones that took off from Iraq and not from Yemen.
The Iraqi government on Sunday dismissed media reports about the use of its territory in the attack.
The statement issued by the Information Office of the Prime Minister said that Iraq is constitutionally obligated to prevent the use of its territory for aggression against neighbouring countries.
The attacks resulted in “the temporary suspension of production operations” at the Abqaiq oil processing facility and the Khurais oil field, Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said in a statement.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said as a result of the terrorist acts, oil production in Abqaiq and Khurais was knocked out temporarily and that estimates show that 50% of the company’s production had been interrupted.
