Tehran, Sep 18: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday said a recent terror attack at Saudi Arabia oil plant claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels considered to be a warning to the Kingdom to put an end to civil 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 a video carried by Iran’s media.
A senior Iranian official said Iran does not seek military clashes in the Middle East in the midst of allegation that Tehran was behind the assault on Saudi oil facilities, according to Sputnik news reports.
The Iranian defence minister has dismissed Iran played any role in this recent oil attack. ISNA news agency has quoted the minister as saying, “Quite obviously, it was a military clash between two countries. The Yemeni were one of the sides, they said themselves they did it.”
These statements came a few hours after Riyadh’s defence ministry stated it would present shreds of evidence of Tehran’s involvement in the recent attack on Saudi’s Aramco oil plants.
After facing a drone attack, that Yemen Houthi rebels have claimed, Saudi Arabia had suspended operations of two Aramco oil plants at Khurais and Abqaiq.
Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, has on Tuesday embarked on an official two-day visit to the Middle East in the midst of heightened tensions in the region following a recent drone assault on Saudi Arabia’s oil plants.
US department of state announced: “Secretary Michael R. Pompeo will travel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), September 17 to 19.”
Pompeo is slated to kick-off his visit Jeddah when he will arrive there on September 18 and meet Saudi Arabia crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MbS, and hold discussions on the recent terror attack on the Kingdom’s oil plants and make efforts to counter Iranian aggression in the Middle East.
After concluding his trip to Saudi, Pompeo is scheduled to meet Abu Dhabi Prince Mohammed bin Zayed and discuss bilateral, regional and international matters.
The visit to the Middle East comes in the wake of the drone attack on Saudi oil facilities. Moreover, Yemen rebels, Houthi, had claimed the responsibility for the assault.
Also read: Amid Middle East tensions, Mike Pompeo embarks on 2-day visit to Saudi Arabia, UAE post oil attacks