Trump offers support for Saudi Arabia’s self-defense

Bloomberg

President Donald Trump offered US support for Saudi Arabia’s self-defense in a call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the White House said.
The pair spoke after a swarm of explosive drones hit key oil-industry targets in Saudi Arabia. The state-run Saudi Press Agency earlier reported on the call.
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for the strikes, which forced Saudi Aramco to cut daily oil production in half.
The US “strongly condemns the attack on critical energy infrastructure,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said in an emailed statement that was also posted on Twitter.
The US government “is monitoring the situation and remains committed to ensuring global oil markets are stable and well supplied.”
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a confidant of Trump, earlier urged a decisive US response against Iranian targets.
“It is now time for the US to put on the table an attack on Iranian oil refineries if they continue their provocations or increase nuclear enrichment,” Graham of South Carolina said on Twitter.
“Iran will not stop their misbehavior until the consequences become more real, like attacking their refineries.”
John Abizaid, the US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said in a tweet “attacks against critical infrastructure endanger civilians, are unacceptable, and sooner or later will result in innocent lives being lost.”

Pompeo blames Iran for drone attack
Bloomberg

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo blamed Iran for a series of brazen attacks on a massive Saudi Aramco oil facility, saying there was no
evidence the drones originated in Yemen as Tehran-backed rebels there claimed.
Iran denied responsibility for the raids, which forced Saudi Arabia to slash its daily oil output in half. Pompeo tweeted after the White House confirmed that President Donald Trump offered support for Saudi Arabia’s self-defense in a call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
Iran launched an “unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply,” Pompeo said on Twitter after at least one Republican lawmaker urged the US to respond in kind with a strike on Iranian oil facilities. He gave no evidence to back up that allegation.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi and US officials are investigating the possibility that cruise missiles were launched from Iraq, which is much closer than Yemen, and is home to a host of Iran-backed Shiite missiles.