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Iran says it's ready for war with US after Saudi oil attack accusations

Tehran says US bases and aircraft carriers stationed up to 1,200 miles around Iran are within range of its missiles.

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Drone attack: Saudi oil plant ablaze
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Iran has dismissed US accusations it was behind drone attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil plants, and warned it is ready for a "full-fledged" war.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said Washington had adopted a "maximum pressure" strategy against Iran, but because of "its failure [the US] is leaning toward maximum lies".

His remarks came as a senior commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guards said America's military bases and aircraft carriers, which are stationed up to 1,243 miles around Iran, were within range of Iranian missiles.

Smoke is seen following a fire at an Aramco factory
Image: Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have said they carried out the drone attacks on Saudi oil plants

Amirali Hajizadeh was also quoted by the Tasnim news agency as saying that Iran has always been ready for a "full-fledged" war, without mentioning Saturday's explosions in Saudi Arabia.

Saturday's drone attacks - which Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels claim they carried out - have halted around half of Saudi oil supplies after hitting the kingdom's biggest processing facility and a major oil field.

They set off huge fires, leading to a suspension of production operations at the Abqaiq facility and the Khurais field, about 200 miles northeast of the Saudi capital Riyadh.

An image taken by the European Commission's Sentinel-2 satellite of the aftermath shows black charring at the centre of the Abqaiq plant.

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Satellite image shows damage to the oil refinery. Pic: European Commission
Image: Satellite image shows damage to the oil refinery. Pic: European Commission

Saudi officials have announced they expect to restore a third of the lost oil output on Monday.

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who has spoken to US secretary of state Mike Pompeo about the incident, called it an "egregious attack on the security of Saudi Arabia".

He wrote on Twitter: "This was a reckless attempt to damage regional security and disrupt global oil supplies. The UK condemns such behaviour unreservedly."

President Donald Trump called Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman following the attack, expressing US support for the kingdom's security and stability.

The crown prince assured Mr Trump that Saudi Arabia is "willing and able to confront and deal with this terrorist aggression".

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is pictured while meeting with the Tunisian President during his arrival at the presidential palace in Carthage on the eastern outskirts of the capital Tunis on November 27, 2018. (Photo by FETHI BELAID / AFP)        (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)
Image: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman says he is 'willing and able to confront and deal with this terrorist aggression'

Mr Pompeo described the attacks as "unprecedented" and pointed the finger at Tehran.

He wrote on Twitter: "Tehran is behind nearly 100 attacks on Saudi Arabia while [Iran's president and foreign minister] Rouhani and Zarif pretend to engage in diplomacy.


A senior US official also backed up the claims, saying the scope and precision of the attacks suggested they came from a west-northwest direction.

"There's no doubt that Iran is responsible for this," they said. "No matter how you slice it, there's no escaping it. There's no other candidate."

In response, Iran's foreign minister said blaming Tehran for Houthi rebel attacks would not end the Yemen conflict.

Javad Zarif tweeted that having failed at "max pressure" Mr Pompeo was turning to "max deceit".

"US & its clients are stuck in Yemen because of illusion that weapon superiority will lead to military victory," he said.

"Blaming Iran won't end disaster. Accepting our April '15 proposal to end war & begin talks may."

While markets remain closed Sunday, the attack could shock world energy prices.

Drone attack on oil production

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Who launched the drone attack against Saudi oil facilities?

Saudi Arabia says 5.7 million barrels a day of oil production were lost, and the supply of ethane and natural gas was also cut by around half, according to preliminary estimates.

Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil giant, told one Indian refinery there will be no immediate impact on oil supplies as it will deliver crude from other sources, said a source with the refinery.

White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said the US energy department was prepared to tap into the strategic petroleum reserve if needed to stabilise the global energy supply.

The Saudi minister said the attacks were aimed not only at Saudi Arabia, but also at the world's oil supply and its security.