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The US and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are pushing for a conflict with Iran, as is becoming apparent from developments in the last few days.
Riyadh claimed that, according to preliminary results, the attacks on its oil infrastructure didn’t originate from Yemen. That is because, its air defense systems are oriented towards the country and would have blocked a possible attack.
This graphic shows Saudi Air Defences around the Abqaiq oil facilities that were struck early Saturday. The drones were well within PAC-2 range, but outside Hawk range. It's possible that the low-flying or the drones' small size and composite materials helped it avoid detection. pic.twitter.com/AiMJ0LZT27
— Aᴍɪʀ (@AmirIGM) September 14, 2019
The Wall Street Journal cited unnamed US officials, according to who the blame falls on Iran, since US and Saudi focus was shifted on the southern border with Yemen, leaving it open to attacks from other directions.
According to the unnamed sources, the attack originated from Iran and there was even debris from what appears to be Iranian cruise-missile technology.
“Everything points to them,” an unmanned Saudi official said, referring to Iran. “The debris, the intel and the points of impact.”
Saudi air defenses also were monitoring maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, where U.S. officials charge Iran has seized passing oil tankers and flown drones near American war ships.
But Saudi Arabia’s eastern flank remained open. And according to both the US and the Kingdom, Iran was behind the attack.
Iran was blamed, even though a Houthi spokesperson even claimed responsibility for the attack on September 14th.
“This operation is one of the largest operations carried out by our forces in the depth of Saudi Arabia and came after an accurate intelligence operation and advance monitoring and cooperation of honorable and free men within the Kingdom.
We promise the Saudi regime that our future operations will expand further and be more painful than ever as long as it continues its aggression and siege.
We affirm that our goals bank is expanding day by day and that there is no solution for the Saudi regime except to stop the aggression and siege on our country.”
Meanwhile, it was announced that a Saudi Defence Ministry spokesman will hold a press conference on September 18th to provide evidence about the attack on Aramco.
The conference will show evidence on Iran’s involvement in the Aramco attacks, state TV added. It will also show Iranian weapons that were used in the attacks.
The conference will take place at 14:30 GMT, and will present “material evidence and Iranian weapons proving the Iranian regime’s involvement in the terrorist attack”.
In response to the attack, the Kingdom announced that it would join the US maritime coalition to ensure security in the Persian Gulf. This was reported by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, citing an anonymous official.
The US continues its accusations, saying that it is prepared to strike any responsible party that attacked its allies.
US Vice President Mike Pence, who essentially just repeats what US President Donald Trump says, said that the US was “locked and loaded” to defend America’s allies in response to an attack on oil sites in Saudi Arabia.
“In the wake of this unprovoked attack, I promise you, we’re ready,” Pence said. “We’re locked and loaded and we’re ready to defend the interests of our allies. Make no mistake about it.”
Pence also said that it “looks like” Iran was responsible for the attack on the Saudi oil facilities, but said the U.S. intelligence community was working to confirm the details.
Pence confirmed that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would travel to the Kingdom on September 18th.
“We’re evaluating all of the evidence, we’re consulting with our allies,” Pence said.
On September 17th, by pure accident, of course, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper welcomed Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa of Bahrain to the Pentagon.
He didn’t miss the chance to remind that the US 5th Fleet operates out of Bahrain since 1995.
“Your nation has stepped up for decades to play a part in helping to deter conflict in one of the most important parts of the world,” he said. “We are grateful for the kingdom’s long-standing willingness to host the [U.S.] 5th Fleet, a partnership that began in 1995. This is indicative of the strong ties between our countries.”
Esper also mentioned Iran, saying that that Iran continues to violate international norms and instead has chosen to promote instability and danger throughout the region.
“We greatly appreciate you working together with us and other friends of the rule of law and security to deter further provocative acts by Iran,” he said. “Matters at hand are regrettable and are of great concern to all of us in the world — those, at least, who value the international world order of peace, security and stability.”
Meanwhile, on the international scene, France said it would send experts to investigate the attack.
In a statement, the Elysee Palace said the president strongly condemned the attack and assured Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that France was committed to stability in the Middle East.
“In response to a Saudi request, President Macron confirmed to the crown prince that France will send experts to Saudi Arabia to take part in investigations aimed at revealing the origin and modalities of the attacks,” the statement added.
Japan said that it wasn’t aware of any Iranian involvement in the attack.
“We are not aware of any information that points to Iran,” Defence Minister Taro Kono told reporters at a briefing. “We believe the Houthis carried out the attack based on the statement claiming responsibility.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the attacks during a telephone call, agreeing on “the need to work together, alongside international partners, to agree a collective response,” according to Downing Street.
Iran maintains that it played no role in the attacks, with various official accusing the US of being in “denial” over the attacks.
Furthermore, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif accused US of the very apparent hypocrisy it shows.
Just imagine: The US isn’t upset when its allies mercilessly BOMB babies in Yemen for over 4 years—with its arms and its military assistance.
But it is terribly upset when the victims react the only way they can—against the aggressor's OIL refineries. #EndYemenWarNow
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) September 17, 2019
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told a cabinet meeting that the Houthis attacked the Saudi oil facilities as a “warning” for Riyadh to end its long-running war in Yemen.
“We don’t want conflict in the region … Who started the conflict? Not the Yemenis. It was Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, America, certain European countries and the Zionist regime [Israel] which started the war in this region,” Rouhani said in the video.
Finally, Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami said that Tehran was not involved in the attacks.
“Rejecting comments about Iran’s role in the operation, [Hatami] said the issue is very clear: There has been a conflict between two countries [Yemen and Saudi Arabia].” The Tasnim news agency said.
The situation is currently quite volatile, with both the US and Saudi Arabia dead set on painting Iran as the guilty party, despite what any other evidence or claims would suggest.
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Now I suspect why the hysteria is ruling over the US and Saudi officials: With anything between 5 to 7mn bbls of Saudi oil disappearing from the market for a time range between a few months to 2 years, they are freaking out that countries seek to buy oil from Iran, with or without US “permission”. All those threats and sanctions became a drawing on water. Poor chaps!
Maybe Saudis think “we are royally screwed and things can’t get any worse, let’s attack Iran and finish it once and for all. What can go wrong that hasn’t already habibi?” Hehe, well, nevermind… What will happen in the short term is scare-mongering and more threats, not just against Iran but against any possible buyer. And more crackdown inside KSA, more oppression, disappearing, Khashoggiing and torture of the locals+ people of Bahrain. Oh, and more US troops and hardware stationed inside KSA plus a few fat contracts for some familiar companies and perhaps a meeting with the head of the Zionist regime to announce a “united” front against the big bad Iran..
Yemen will be free again and so Bahrain will be free of the Fat Bastard oppression one way or another. That day they will decide to rejoin their motherland or continue as a free and independent country.
China&India are not scared at all by the camelfuckers nor by the brainburgers. Emirs&Cow Boys are at the end of their history ;)
” since US and Saudi focus was shifted on the southern border with Yemen, leaving it open to attacks from other directions.”
Ah, I understand it all now. The US and Saudi defence doctrine was to defend the front door of the house and to leave the sides and back of the house undefended, LOL.
So the very very expensive Saudi missile defences purchased from the US were successful in defending the front door in the Hollywood version of the attack. Even though the US says that no attack came from there. The Saudi’s will just have to spend more billions of US dollars to buy more useless Patriot missiles I suppose :)
I was always taught the doctrine of All Round Defence, that is sooo old fashioned in the US think tanks these days.
Oh, it’s the ‘hold me back before I kill him’ posture now is it? LOL! Incompetent cowards!
There will be no war because they known damn well that Iran didn’t do it, and even if it did, the cost of launching a war on Iran is just too prohibitive for the US, saudi arabia and that shitty little terrorist country known as israfuck.
Shouting that Iran did at the top of your lungs does not drown out the fact that the US thug on the saudi payroll could not stop a buncha drones from wiping out half of saudi’s daily oil production. Worse than that, these drones went right past the Patriot Systems and all other fantastical US radar systems. This is what’s giving the ziocons at MIC a sore butt and this is the very subject they do not the world to be talking about: Empire’s incompetent weaponry.
It’s a war on China, and KSA is the expendable proxy of the US. With all the ME oil and gas production out of service, only Russia and the US remain on the market. China must be obliged to deal with US, and Europe also. So they can save the petrodollar and their global dominion. I think this is their plan, but I think it is also a lost bet
So, this is it folks, finally, A War with Iran. Ha ha… GOOD LUCK!
Iran’s retaliation to any military attack will not be “limited to its source,” Tehran said in an official note to Washington, semi-official ISNA news agency reported on Wednesday.
The note was sent to the United States via the Swiss embassy.
Iran has reiterated that it was not behind recent attacks on Saudi Arabia’ oil facilities. Tehran has also warned that any move by the US against Iran “will get immediate reaction,” the report said.
Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami said Tehran had no involvement in the attacks on Saudi Arabia’s Aramco oil installations, the Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday.
‘Iranian technology?’ of course it is Iranian technology but that doesn’t mean it was fired from Iran. It was manufactured by the Yemenis (probably Royal Guard airforce) based on Iranian design.
How would the U.S. and Saudis know what debris from an actual Iranian cruise missile looks like, it’s not like Iran throws them around like we do. We only have a few pictures of them complements of Iran. We don’t have any of them in our custody.
Well, the US has debris from the Iranian ballistic missiles fired at ISIS positions (June 2017 and October 2018, each 6 missiles) and Kurdish separatist terror group in Iraqi KRG (September 2018, 7 missiles).
Some of the debris from Deirezzor was used in Nikki Haley’s show, blaming Yemeni retaliatory attacks on Saudi positions on Iran (how the debris find it’s way from ISIS hands into Nikki’s closet, I cannot imagine since the US does not “negotiate” with terrorists!). At the time the Yemeni retaliations were just starting and the world was not convinced of Yemeni abilities. But AFAIK, You’re right and the US still doesn’t have any parts from Iranian cruise missiles. But that’s no problem. Apparently in the age of “highly likely and high degree of confidence” it’s enough to just repeat something and repeat it some more and it becomes reality.
US and Israel are using the idiotic and clueless Saudis as patsies for a regional war. Any conflict will destroy Saudi Arabia and result in a indefinite US and NATO occupation of Saudi Arabian oilfields. The Saudis need to think a bit before committing collective suicide.
all right, but consider ARAMCO=Arabian-American Oil Company ;)
Yep, Arabian American Co-operation! (For the zionist cause, naturally!)
Thats been the plan i beleive.
Thats what kashoggi was advocating for actually, a “democratization” scheme. Thats also why koshoggi was whacked.
The Saudi’s / USA claim the attack was from Iran, through southern iraq and Kuwait. Kuwait is about 150KM wide and the USA has an air base smack dab in the middle of it.
The USA is supposed to be on high alert against just this kind of attack. How did the USA fail to detect a cruise missile attack that could just as easily have been targeting their base as Saudi oil installations? Are their air defences really that bad?
if I were the Americans I would be doing all I could to put the blame on the Houtis ….. if the narrative that the iranians did this holds true the whole world now knows that the USA can’t defend against this kind of attack. Last year they showed that their bases can be found by analyzing Strava heatmaps and now they’ve shown they can’t defend against drone and cruise missile attacks. Meanwhile the Russians are swat down these same attacks like flies.
How much do you want to bet the Taliban just gave up goat herding for RC model aircraft as a hobby?
LOL, id rsther the taliban resume burning opium fields and shooting the drug.smugglers, all in due time i guess.
I agree this showed that american air defense systems either suck, or the operators got caught with their pants down, or they seen it and let it happen.
I like that you pointed out that russian air defences have been dealing with threats like these for years, quite easily might i add.
No wonder MBS was trying to buy s400, did you see putin troll saudis saying you should buy s300.to avoid these issues.
S300+ buk tor kub and pantsir provide a pretty good.umbrella.
Better than american crap, that our tax dollars are subsidizing, the general dynamics, lockeed martins ect.
Fun stuff eh? That money could go into roads bridges and pipes, instead, right into stockholders pockets.
The only thing in this case pointing towards Iran are saudi lard backsides.
Can’t wait for the news ‘conference’…more likely news ‘op’. When will Pence and the other idiots realize they are cutting the throats of the MIC with their incessant blatherings that Iran did it right in front of them and they didn’t see shit? Then for the idiot to say that the US is ready to defend their ‘friends’…as if this was a new prerogative. That it was their protection that has proven to be inept, to say the very least, and to then attribute their failure to having their missile systems pointed the wrong way is so F’ing stupid (on soooo many levels) I find myself sinking in my chair in disgust and embarrassment. As for their proof, now…will that be that physical debris taken from an Iranian attack on ISIS in Syria…or will it be info from ‘credible and reliable’ sources as in the past (infamous yellow cake BS)? Maybe they’ll even go with jiggered radar data. What was the latest BS from on high? 20 drones and a dozen cruise missiles?…and they flew right past all the US installations all around the area and hit the installations they were protecting. The Russians could not possibly ask for a better sales pitch for their systems. This incident has the ‘big lie’ tactic going on steroids. The Iranians called it right when they said the US was changing their mode of attack to ‘maximum deceit’. Fortunately, they are implementing it with maximum morons. Only those who are under their thumb will ‘believe’ their crapola.
Just checking, no WW 3 yet? Ok, back to sleep then…..
USA and Israel again with their “WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION.” Israel-USA are just looking for any excuse to destroy Iran. However, Iran is not Lybia, is not Afganistan, is not Irak (of Sadam Husein), and is not Syria either. So, better to think about a war with Iran three times. If few drons can do the big destruction on Saudis oil fields… do you have an idea that a rain of high presission missiles can do in Saudis or Israel ?
All this because the US can’t buy off some ‘intolerable’ mullahs. Fuck you US israel saudi isis headchoppers. FUCK YOU BACK TO HELL. Death to them all. Next time let the drones find your heads enmasse.
“…an unmanned Saudi official….”
Could it be Jared of Arabia rattling his sabre?
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