The United States readied its response Monday to the “unprecedented” attack on Saudi oil facilities as President Donald Trump said Iran was likely to blame, fanning new fears of conflict in the Gulf region.
Trump said he was ready to help key ally Saudi Arabia after the weekend drone attacks, which triggered a record leap in global oil prices, but would await a “definitive” determination on who was responsible.
“We have a lot of options,” the US leader told reporters, saying there was no rush to react and that talks with allies would come first.
“I’m not looking to get into new conflict, but sometimes you have to,” he said. “That was a very large attack, and it could be met by an attack many, many times larger.”
“Certainly, it would look to most like it was Iran,” the president added.
After meeting with Trump, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper also singled out Iran as a regional destabilizing force, while stopping short of directly accusing Tehran over the strike.
The US military, he said, is working with its partners to “address this unprecedented attack and defend the international rules-based order that is being undermined by Iran.”
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will “at some point” travel to Saudi Arabia, Trump said, without giving details.
