Aramco attacks .. US and Iraqi official reveal their source

CNN quoted a senior US official as saying that Iraq or Iran may be the source of attacks on Saudi Arabia. From southern Iraq, which Baghdad denied yesterday.

The US official told CNN that the Iraqi side was clear that the attack on Saudi Aramco's facilities was not from Iraqi airspace, suggesting that Iran might be the source of the attack.

The same source said - based on satellite images seen by the network "CNN" - it is unlikely that the attacks were carried out from Yemen.
The official added that the attacks targeted 19 sites, which could not happen by ten drones as claimed by the Houthis, he said.

Monitor in Kuwait
The US official pointed to reports that Kuwait was monitoring a drone in its airspace before the attack on Saudi Arabia, adding that Saudi intelligence indicated a possible cruise missile attack, and that the United States had not yet confirmed the information.

He declined to mention the options being considered by the Trump administration, noting that US President Donald Trump wants to consider all possible options.

The Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as saying that Saudi investigators point out that the oil facilities were targeted by medium-range ballistic missiles capable of flying for a thousand miles.

Western officials in the region are wondering if they call them military hardliners in Iran who are trying to derail Washington-Tehran diplomacy if Iran is behind the attacks.

Crowd camps
In a related context, a senior Iraqi intelligence official told Middle East Eye that the strikes that paralyzed the Saudi oil industry early on Saturday were carried out by Iranian drones fired from the Popular Mobilization camps in southern Iraq.

The Iraqi official said the attacks on Abqaiq and Khurais in eastern Saudi Arabia were in response to Israeli drone strikes on Hashd camps and processions last August, which were coordinated and financed by the Saudis.

The same source pointed out that there are two reasons behind the attacks Saturday: The first message from Iran to America and its allies that as long as pressure and sanctions continue on Tehran, no one will enjoy stability in the region.

The second immediate reason, according to the Iraqi intelligence official, is to give Iran a strong response to the recent Israeli raids launched from areas controlled by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (northeastern Syria) on positions of the pro-Tehran crowd.

Iraqi intelligence believes that the Israeli raids were planned when Saudi State Minister for Gulf Affairs Tamer al-Sabhan visited the YPG positions in June, Middle East reported.

America is ready
US President Donald Trump said in a series of tweets published hours ago that his country was ready to respond to the attack on Saudi oil infrastructure.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed Iran for the attacks on Aramco, which disrupted half of Saudi Arabia's estimated 10 million barrels per day of oil production.

"There is reason to believe that we know the perpetrator and we stand ready to respond on the basis of the verification process, but we are waiting for the kingdom to tell us who you think is the cause of this attack, and in what ways we will move forward," Trump said.

The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration is considering a serious military response to the Aramco attacks, despite calls from the Pentagon for restraint.

Several Democrats in Congress hurriedly voiced their rejection of any military intervention. Senator Chris Murphy said in response to Trump: "We do not have a joint defense pact with Saudi Arabia and we should not pretend."

"Senate Bernie Sanders said," Congress will not give Trump the power to wage a catastrophic war only because the Saudi brutal regime has asked him to do so. " Another Democratic senator, Tim Kean, said the United States should not go to war to protect Saudi oil.

Relations between the United States and Iran have deteriorated recently after Washington tightened sanctions on Tehran to push for a new nuclear deal instead of the 2015 agreement between Iran and world powers.In recent months there have been several attacks on Saudi oil installations and oil tankers in the Gulf.