President Trump on Sunday said the U.S. is “locked and loaded” as it awaits verification of who was behind a spate of drone attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil supply this weekend.
“Saudi Arabia oil supply was attacked,” Trump tweeted. “There is reason to believe that we know the culprit, are locked and loaded depending on verification, but are waiting to hear from the Kingdom as to who they believe was the cause of this attack, and under what terms we would proceed!”
Houthi rebels in Yemen have claimed to be behind the two drone strikes against two oil refineries in Saudi Arabia.
{mosads}Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of being behind the attacks. Tehran has denied the allegations.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted Sunday that Pompeo’s accusation is “turning to ‘max deceit,’” a reference to the Trump administration’s maximum pressure strategy.
“US & its clients are stuck in Yemen because of illusion that weapon superiority will lead to military victory,” he wrote. “Blaming Iran won’t end disaster.”
In another tweet, Trump authorized the use of the United State’s emergency oil reserve in response to the drone attacks.
“Based on the attack on Saudi Arabia, which may have an impact on oil prices, I have authorized the release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, if needed, in a to-be-determined amount sufficient to keep the markets well-supplied,” he wrote. “I have also informed all appropriate agencies to expedite approvals of the oil pipelines currently in the permitting process in Texas and various other States.”