Pres. Trump says the U.S. is 'always prepared' to use military option with Iran. 'There's never been a country more prepared.'
The Saudi government on Wednesday publicly accused Iran of"sponsoring" the attack on its oil facilities over the weekend -- an accusation that will have serious consequences for a region already on edge, but that still stopped short of total blame.
During a news conference in Riyadh on Wednesday, the Saudi defense ministry showed what they said was surveillance footage of the missiles traveling south from Iran and displayed remnants of some of the Iranian drones it said were used in the attack. Iran has denied responsibility for the attack, which was claimed by Houthi rebels in Saudi Arabia's southern neighbor Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition has been fighting for over four years.
The main oil processing facility at Abqaiq was hit by 18 drones, according to al Malki, and the oil field at Khurais was hit by four land-based cruise missiles, with three more falling short. There were at total of 25 drones, although it's unclear what happened to the other ones. Beyond the forensic evidence, Pompeo told reporters traveling with him there is strong circumstantial evidence, including that the weapons used haven't been deployed by Iran out of its borders. He added that the intelligence community has"high confidence" the weapons were not in the Houthis' arsenal, calling the group the"well-known, frequently lying Houthis."
Critical to that deterrence, Pompeo said, would be intense economic pressure, and Trump tweeted Wednesday that he was ordering Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to increase sanctions in response to the attack. Iran is already struggling under intense U.S. sanctions that have targeted its top leaders and key industries, especially oil, metallurgy, and its financial sector. In August, the U.S. placed sanctions on Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, which Iran called"childish."
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