Drones Attack Saudi Arabia Refinery: Oil Production Cut by Half – Who is to Blame

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(September 14, 2019) 

This major update just in re: he following story from CNBC news flash:

Brent crude oil jumps 13% after drone strikes disrupt Saudi crude production

Attacks shut down one half of Saudi oil production (from CNBC).

That is being reported as “Yemen Houthis involvement” instead suggesting they were launched by Iranian-backed proxy militias based in Iraq. Baghdad denies its territory played any role in the attacks. 

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has put the blame for the attacks squarely on Iran, saying on a Twitter: “Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply... There is no evidence the attacks came from Yemen.”

FYI: What evidence supports Pompeo’s assertion I wonder?

Tehran has provided material support to the Houthis, who have been engaged in a bloody war with Saudi Arabia since Riyadh launched an offensive in Yemen in 2015. The conflict is often described as a proxy war between the Sunni kingdom and the Islamic Republic, though the Houthis are far from completely aligned with Iran. 

Washington provides intelligence and logistics support to the Saudis for their operations in Yemen, something many members of Congress have voted to end.  

Tensions between Iran and the U.S. and fears of a new war in the Middle East have been rising since the Trump administration withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and re-imposed sweeping sanctions on Iran in an attempt to push it into a more stringent deal involving broader security concessions.

In May and June, six foreign tankers were hit in alleged sabotage attacks that the U.S. government has blamed on Iranian forces, a charge Tehran denies. 

Then Iran on June 20 shot down a U.S. surveillance drone it says was flying over its territory, prompting a planned U.S. military strike on Iranian military targets which Trump approved and then called off just 10 minutes before the attack was launched.

I insert this reminder as being directly related: Regional tensions have escalated since Washington quit an international nuclear deal and extended sanctions on Iran to choke off its vital oil exports.

The Iran nuclear deal:

That deal, official name: “The 2015 JCPOA” signed by the P5+1 (US, UK, France, Russia, China and plus one: Germany) was working by all accounts including on-site IAEA inspections.

So, Trump took steps to cancel the deal saying: “It was awful – the worse in history - I can get better deal.”

(I insert: So, Look at what the “deal-maker” has wrought: On the verge of WWIII in the ME with Iran in the middle. Some deal, um, Mr. Trump?)

What was Trump’s main reason? Barack Obama was the main part of getting Iran the deal and Trump is blind with his jealousy of Obama about anything he did or accomplished and it is plenty, too.

Now Iran breaks the limits of the deal and Trump says: “See I told you it was a bad deal (funny how Trump never mentions that he cancelled what was working for is pile of dung that stinks).

If by chance, Iran were to stop and back down and sticks to the JCPOA deal, guess what Trump will then say: “See I told you I could get a better deal – I’m good at deal making.”

More from here:

Meanwhile, France, condemning Saturday's attack saying: “Such actions can only worsen regional tensions and risk of conflict.”

Turkey, an ally of Iran, called for the avoidance of “provocative steps that could harm regional stability.”

The attack comes after Trump said a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was possible at the United Nations General Assembly in New York this month. But, Tehran ruled out talks until sanctions are lifted.

“Amid all the calls for de-escalation, Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world's energy supply,” Pompeo said in a Twitter post.

Saudi de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) told Trump by telephone following the attacks: “Riyadh was willing and able to deal with the terrorist aggression.”

A senior Emirati official said the UAE, Riyadh's main partner in the Western-backed military coalition in Yemen, would fully support Saudi Arabia as the assault targets us all.

The UAE, concerned about the rising tensions with Iran and Western criticism of the war, has scaled down its military presence in Yemen, leaving Riyadh to try to neutralize the Houthis to prevent Iran from gaining influence along its border.

Riyadh accuses Iran of arming the Houthis, a charge both of them deny.

Iran's foreign minister Mohammed Javad Zarif tweeted: “That Washington and its allies were stuck in Yemen and that blaming Tehran won't end the disaster.”

My 2 cents: The obvious and now possible long-term cause for this is Iran ever since June has been incrementally rolling back its obligations under the 2015 nuclear production deal (9+1 agreement - which BTW was working) that Trump withdrew from left harsh sanctions in place.

Iran has since stepped up their uranium enrichment program by using advanced centrifuges that bring it closer to bomb-making capability – something the agreement had stopped and with IAEA proof, too. 

Trump hated that deal for one reason: It had Obama’s name on it and Trump can’t allow Obama to outshine him on any deal – since Trump is “a stable genius and the best deal maker of all time” – or so he professes often.

This mess whatever it is was driven by Trump’s attitude against both Obama and Iran and now he will as usual blame Obama mostly – Trump is incorrigible.

Thanks for stopping by.