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Saudi Arabia seeks action against Iran after oil attack, allies wary


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Saudi Arabia seeks action against Iran after oil attack, allies wary

By Sylvia Westall, Ghaida Ghantous and Stephen Kalin

 

2019-09-22T145720Z_1_LYNXMPEF8L0HV_RTROPTP_4_UN-ASSEMBLY-SAUDI.JPG

FILE PHOTO: Workers are seen at the damaged site of Saudi Aramco oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia, September 20, 2019. REUTERS/Hamad l Mohammed/File Photo

 

DUBAI/RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will seek to make a case at a global gathering in New York this week for concerted action to punish and deter arch-foe Iran after strikes on Saudi oil plants rattled global markets and exposed the kingdom's vulnerability to attack.

 

However, even Riyadh's main allies the United States and the United Arab Emirates have little appetite for a conventional military confrontation which may spark a war in the Gulf and drag in other oil producers, diplomats say.

 

As it tries to build a coalition, Riyadh is preparing to provide evidence to the U.N. General Assembly which it says will prove Iran was behind the Sept. 14 drone and missile assault which initially drastically affected its oil output, a view shared by Washington. Riyadh says Iranian weapons were launched from the north and that it is working to pinpoint the exact location.

 

Iran has denied any involvement and vowed to retaliate against even a limited military response. It has criticised the accusations as part of a campaign of "maximum pressure" launched by President Donald Trump on Tehran after he quit a 2015 nuclear pact last year and widened sanctions to choke off Iran's oil exports. Riyadh wants to see more punitive action by the international community.

 

"This attack is a tipping point. Saudi Arabia will make the case this was a devastating blow and continued threat to the global economy," a Gulf Arab source told Reuters on Sunday.

 

"If Saudi Arabia can prove without reasonable doubt that Iran was behind it, then world powers could exercise their clout -- their pressure, their trade tools, pulling Iran back from its brinkmanship policy," the source said.

 

Ahead of the U.N. General Assembly, Riyadh says it wants a peaceful resolution, but if the probe proved the strike came from Iran then "this would be considered an act of war".

 

IRANIAN SECURITY PROPOSAL

In Tehran, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday that he will present at the General Assembly a plan for "creating security" in the Gulf in cooperation with other regional nations, without providing further details.

 

Concrete evidence over responsibility for the latest drone attack is likely to be crucial to overcome reservations by European and other powers, who were largely reluctant to join a U.S.-led maritime security coalition after tanker attacks in May and June in Gulf waters were also blamed on Iran. Tehran has also denied involvement in those strikes.

 

The Sept. 14 attack "was a big escalation, there is a clear problem. But it is a real dilemma of how to react without escalating further," said a Western diplomat. "It is not clear yet what the U.S. wants to do."

 

France, which is trying to salvage the nuclear deal as Iran scales back its commitments, has urged de-escalation. China and Russia, which hold vetoes in the U.N. Security Council, have warned against attributing blame without providing proof.

 

There are divisions among Gulf Arab states. Riyadh and its allies are locked in a dispute with Qatar that has shattered a Gulf military, political and economic alliance.

 

Differences have also emerged between allies Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia's main partner in the military coalition fighting in Yemen, after the UAE reduced its involvement in the war in June and moderated its tone towards Iran.

Senior Emirati foreign ministry official Anwar Gargash said the UAE will in New York "emphasise the primacy of diplomacy".

 

The United States has also sent mixed signals.

 

Trump, who ordered more sanctions and approved sending American troops to bolster Saudi defences, initially declared Washington was "locked and loaded" to respond, then said there were options short of war. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday the U.S. was looking to build a coalition to achieve a peaceful resolution.

 

The Pentagon said on Friday it will send more troops to Saudi Arabia and speed up delivery of military equipment to Saudi and the UAE after the strike exposed serious gaps in Saudi air defences. Rouhani said the presence of foreign forces in the region would create insecurity for oil and shipping.

 

"I doubt anyone has the appetite for a direct clash between the U.S. and Iran," said Barbara A. Leaf, who was U.S. ambassador to the UAE from 2014-2018 and is now a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

 

"It really requires re-establishing deterrence. Clearly there is none now," she told Reuters. "It really depends on the administration ... being clear of purpose and intent."

 

(Reporting by Sylvia Westall, Ghaida Ghantous and Stephen Kalin; Additional reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh in Geneva and Lisa Barrington in Dubai; Writing by Ghaida Ghantous; editing by James Drummond)

 

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-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-09-23
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I don't blame the Saudis for wanting retribution. Anyone would. But I hope Trump has the wisdom to stay out of this mess. Anything he does will be used as a rod to beat him. Besides, I would have thought that higher oil prices would benefit a net exporter such as the US.

 Stand back. Let the mayhem play out. Reap the benefits of high oil prices. Win the election. 

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11 minutes ago, TopDeadSenter said:

I don't blame the Saudis for wanting retribution. Anyone would. But I hope Trump has the wisdom to stay out of this mess. Anything he does will be used as a rod to beat him. Besides, I would have thought that higher oil prices would benefit a net exporter such as the US.

 Stand back. Let the mayhem play out. Reap the benefits of high oil prices. Win the election. 

It’s donalds incompetence that created this whole mess Donald doesent want to bomb anything because of the election 

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I just don't see the house of Saud doing nothing after got kicked in the nuts, Arab pride and honor and the culture of an eye for an eye retaliation simply would not allow the to bee seen not responding to such a blatant aggression, what will be the outcomes of such action only time will tell...

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9 minutes ago, Puchaiyank said:

I'm still puzzled why the Saudis do not answer aggression with their own aggression...why are they waiting for the US to take the lead in their conflict with Iran and other countries?  Has the US truly become the world's security force?  God Forbid!

They can't even bomb a neighbouring country like Yemen that has no air force without the US support. Now they want to retaliate against Iran? ???? 

 

No wonder they try to get nuke. 

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4 minutes ago, Puchaiyank said:

I'm still puzzled why the Saudis do not answer aggression with their own aggression...why are they waiting for the US to take the lead in their conflict with Iran and other countries?  Has the US truly become the world's security force?  God Forbid!

Because they know they have Drumpf in their pocket, so why not use him. He obviously has no problem with them murdering a US journalist and cutting him up into pieces with a bone saw, so...give the jackals an inch, they'll take a mile.

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I’m not so sure it wasent a put up job perhaps that’s why they haven’t retaliated very odd 25 or so hits and no one even hurt in a highly combustible plant dont get me wrong I’m delighted no one was hurt but what are the odds?

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1 hour ago, ezzra said:

I just don't see the house of Saud doing nothing after got kicked in the nuts, Arab pride and honor and the culture of an eye for an eye retaliation simply would not allow the to bee seen not responding to such a blatant aggression, what will be the outcomes of such action only time will tell...

You need to go to SA, if there is dirty work to be done they get a foreigner to do it.

 

If they can’t get a foreigner to do it, it doesn’t get done.

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I could be way off base here, but I would not put it past Saudi to have done the damage themselves. Blame Iran, there is no love lost there. At the same time make the price of oil jump through the roof. Win, Win situation as they know good old Uncle Sam will always step in to hold their hand when the going gets tough.

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3 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

I don't blame the Saudis for wanting retribution. Anyone would. But I hope Trump has the wisdom to stay out of this mess. Anything he does will be used as a rod to beat him. Besides, I would have thought that higher oil prices would benefit a net exporter such as the US.

 Stand back. Let the mayhem play out. Reap the benefits of high oil prices. Win the election. 

Higher oil prices will mainly benefit one sector of the American economy: the petroleum industry. But higher prices at the pump will hurt a much bigger sector of the American economy: consumers. Ya think most Americans will be grateful if prices go higher?

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1 hour ago, ezzra said:

I just don't see the house of Saud doing nothing after got kicked in the nuts, Arab pride and honor and the culture of an eye for an eye retaliation simply would not allow the to bee seen not responding to such a blatant aggression, what will be the outcomes of such action only time will tell...

Maybe because the Saudi Armed Forces are extremely incompetent and they know it?

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3 hours ago, Tug said:

It’s donalds incompetence that created this whole mess Donald doesent want to bomb anything because of the election 

Also, I don’t think Trump has the stomach for a real shooting war, which is one thing that works in everyone’s favor here. He’s a bottom-dwelling grifter, not a war hawk; he runs from real fights, and in this case, at least, that’s a better option than generating thousands of body bags. Of course, he could still prove me wrong on this ...

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2 hours ago, ezzra said:

I just don't see the house of Saud doing nothing after got kicked in the nuts, Arab pride and honor and the culture of an eye for an eye retaliation simply would not allow the to bee seen not responding to such a blatant aggression, what will be the outcomes of such action only time will tell...

 

Like what?

Carrying out an attack on Iran? They can't even deal with the Houthis. Plus there will be a response for that.

Call for more diplomatic and economic sanctions? Alrighty then.

Block Iranians from going to Mecca? A blow to their own standing as stewards of the place.

 

More like they'll whine. Condemn. Sulk. Promise some vague retaliation. And continue to try and pressure the USA to "do something". That's about the sum of it.

 

And some posters still don't see what was in it for Iran...oh well.

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2 hours ago, Tug said:

I’m not so sure it wasent a put up job perhaps that’s why they haven’t retaliated very odd 25 or so hits and no one even hurt in a highly combustible plant dont get me wrong I’m delighted no one was hurt but what are the odds?

 

As far as I understand areas attacked were mostly automated.

The attack carried out at night.

There were reports of injuries.

 

I think the aim of the attack was not to completely destroy the facilities, or cause a lot of casualties, but to send a message.

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1 hour ago, AhFarangJa said:

I could be way off base here, but I would not put it past Saudi to have done the damage themselves. Blame Iran, there is no love lost there. At the same time make the price of oil jump through the roof. Win, Win situation as they know good old Uncle Sam will always step in to hold their hand when the going gets tough.

 

Win win how?

 

Saudi Arabia loses a huge amount of credibility and face regionally as the main opposition to Iran. With the attack exposing Saudi Arabia's weakness, inability to retaliate and USA support being on the passive side. I think there's a lot that can be said about MbS, but that he's into intentionally making himself look like a fool and a weakling isn't one of them.

 

Oil prices going up work for Iran as well. Whatever they manage to sell generates more income.

 

 

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1 hour ago, Cory1848 said:

Also, I don’t think Trump has the stomach for a real shooting war, which is one thing that works in everyone’s favor here. He’s a bottom-dwelling grifter, not a war hawk; he runs from real fights, and in this case, at least, that’s a better option than generating thousands of body bags. Of course, he could still prove me wrong on this ...

 

Yes, WWF "fights", where "rivals" face off with microphone at hand before the "real action" starts is more his thing.

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If it were not for their oil, nobody would have ever heard of the House of Saud. They are a blight on the world geopolitical landscape. In reality they are enemy number one. Pakistan could be number two. Possibly. But, one thing remains certain. The Saudis are up to no good. Never have been up to any good. They continue funding the extremist Madrasas, and they continue to destabilize the planet. 

 

Being their close ally is a huge mistake for the US, and puts them on the wrong side of alot of conflicts, including Yemen, which is just another foreign policy disaster for the US. I sure hope that Trump realizes assisting them in bombing Iran would be a huge mistake. Chances are, he might avoid it, as he knows how much it could hurt his chances of re-election, which are fading by the day. Trump will never do something because it is the right thing to do. But, let us hope he does it out of a desire to avoid utter humiliation. 

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14 hours ago, Puchaiyank said:

I'm still puzzled why the Saudis do not answer aggression with their own aggression...why are they waiting for the US to take the lead in their conflict with Iran and other countries?  Has the US truly become the world's security force?  God Forbid!

Because they know that militarily they're inept, ineffective and likely would get hammered.

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15 hours ago, Puchaiyank said:

I'm still puzzled why the Saudis do not answer aggression with their own aggression...why are they waiting for the US to take the lead in their conflict with Iran and other countries?  Has the US truly become the world's security force?  God Forbid!

They are probably waiting for US troops to be killed defending SA.

 

It doesn't matter to them that they are killing civilians every day in Yemen using US supplied warplanes and ammunition.

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