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All tagged Saudi Arabia
◢ US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo landed in Riyadh Wednesday for talks with Saudi leaders focused on countering Tehran, his first visit since a top Iranian general's killing sent regional tensions soaring. The top US diplomat, whose visit follows his first trip to sub-Saharan Africa, will hold talks with King Salman and his son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as well as Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan.
◢ Spooked by the prospect of a catastrophic war with Iran and its proxy militias across the region, Arab monarchies are in the midst of a strategic rethink regarding the Persian Gulf. The U.A.E., whose economic model relies in large part on its international links, quickly realized it had most to lose from a military escalation.
◢ The IMF has sharply downgraded growth projections for Saudi Arabia and Iran, the two largest Mideast economies, citing the impact of US sanctions, geopolitical tensions and low oil prices. Iran has "been or continues to be experiencing very severe macroeconomic distress," the IMF said, adding that growth in 2020 will be flat.
◢ President Hassan Rouhani vowed Monday that Iran would respond to an attack on one of its oil tankers in the Red Sea. “This wasn’t a terrorist move, nor was it carried out by an individual. It was carried out by a government,” Rouhani said, adding that officials were also assessing rocket fragments.
◢ Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif pitched the Islamic Republic's Persian Gulf security plan to neighboring nations on Thursday. Zarif said that the plan, named Hormuz Peace Endeavor, offered the chance of "expansive security" and cooperation between Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.
◢ President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday denounced the presence of foreign forces in the Persian Gulf and said Iran will present a peace plan, after its arch-foe Washington ordered reinforcements to the tense region. "Foreign forces can cause problems and insecurity for our people and for our region," Rouhani said before a military parade commemorating the Iran-Iraq war.
◢ Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said the U.S. is “working diligently” toward a diplomatic resolution with Iran after accusing the Islamic Republic of attacks on Saudi Arabian oil fields, but that President Donald Trump is prepared to take other action if necessary.
◢ The U.S. sanctioned Iran’s central bank and sovereign wealth fund on Friday, a move aimed as retaliation for last weekend’s attacks on key Saudi Arabian oil facilities. “These are the highest sanctions ever imposed,” President Donald Trump told reporters during a meeting.
◢ US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Thursday said he preferred a “peaceful resolution” to a crisis sparked by attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure, as Iran warned against “all-out war.” Pompeo has blamed Iran for the weekend assault on two facilities which wiped out half of Saudi oil production, dismissing its denials and condemning the “act of war.”
◢ President Donald Trump said he wants tougher U.S. sanctions on Iran as his top diplomat arrived in Saudi Arabia to consult with leaders and build a case against Tehran following weekend attacks on the kingdom’s key oil facilities. “We’ll be adding some very significant sanctions,” Trump said Wednesday.
◢ President Hassan Rouhani said Iran is not looking for a war in the Persian Gulf following weekend strikes on Saudi Arabia’s biggest oil installation, as the Islamic Republic sent a cable to Washington formally denying any role. Addressing a cabinet meeting, Rouhani said the assault was carried out by Yemeni Houthi rebels retaliating against Saudi Arabia’s military campaign in their country.
◢ Earlier this year, President Donald Trump warned that “it’s going to be a bad problem for Iran if something happens.” Something big has happened with an attack on Saudi oil infrastructure, and yet it isn’t obvious how the U.S. can effectively retaliate against a country that is already under maximum economic sanctions.
◢ Donald Trump risks a political backlash if he retaliates against Iran over a weekend strike on Saudi Arabian oil facilities after campaigning on promises to withdraw the U.S. from foreign wars. Speaking later to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said: “It’s certainly looking that way at this moment,” and “we pretty much already know” who did it.
◢ China on Monday urged the United States and Iran to "exercise restraint" after a drone attack on Saudi oil infrastructure, which Washington has blamed on Tehran. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying also said it was not responsible to accuse others "in the absence of a conclusive investigation or verdict.”
◢ Iran on Sunday dismissed US accusations it was behind drone attacks on Saudi oil installations, suggesting Washington was seeking a pretext to retaliate against the Islamic Republic. "Such fruitless and blind accusations and remarks are incomprehensible and meaningless," foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi was quoted as saying in a statement.
◢ U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo blamed Iran for a series of brazen attacks on a massive Saudi Aramco oil facility, saying there was no evidence the drones originated in Yemen as Tehran-backed rebels there claimed. Iran denied responsibility for the raids Saturday, which forced Saudi Arabia to slash its daily oil output in half.
◢ An Iranian tanker held in Saudi Arabia since being forced to seek repairs at Jeddah port has been released and is returning to the Islamic republic, a minister said Sunday. The Happiness 1 tanker "has been released following negotiations and is now moving toward Persian Gulf waters," said transport minister Mohammad Eslami, quoted by state news agency IRNA.
◢ Two oil tankers were damaged on Thursday in a suspected attack near the entrance to the Persian Gulf, stoking fears that high-stakes diplomatic efforts won’t avert a military confrontation between the U.S. and Iran. Oil prices surged. The incidents, including an attack on a Japanese-operated vessel, were the second in a month to hit ships near the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint, through which about 40% of the world’s seaborne oil travels.
◢ Saudi Arabia ramped up oil production last month by the most this year, largely filling the gap created by tougher U.S. sanctions on its political rival, Iran. Iranian output plunged in May to the lowest since 1990 as the Trump administration threatened sanctions, according to a Bloomberg survey of officials, analysts and ship-tracking data.
