According to the government in Riyadh, behind the attacks on the oil installations in Saudi Arabia, "undoubtedly" Iran. As evidence, the spokesman for the Saudi Department of Defense, Turki al-Maliki, showed pieces of debris from "drones and cruise missiles" that he claims came from the attack site. The attacks had been conducted from "north", but the exact launch site was still unclear.
Tehran had previously rejected allegations of involvement in the attacks. "We do not want a conflict in the region," said President Hassan Rohani in a video broadcast by Iranian media. Defense Minister Amir Hatami, according to a report by the semi-official news agency Tasnim, said Iran did not play a role in the weekend's attacks. The situation was clear: the conflict prevailed between two countries, Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
Trump announces sanctions against Iran
The allied with Iran Huthi rebels in Yemen had claimed the attacks for themselves. Rohani said it was a militia warning after attacks on hospitals, schools and markets in Yemen attributed to the military coalition led by Saudi Arabia. "Who started the conflict, not the Yemenis," Rohani said in the video he had just sent. "It was Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, America, certain European countries and the Zionist regime (Israel) that started the war in this region."
Even US President Donald Trump responded to the attacks on the Saudi Arabian oil facilities. He announced a "substantial" tightening of economic sanctions against Iran. He had instructed his Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to put these tightening into effect, Trump said on Twitter. What the new Iran sanctions should actually consist of was initially unclear.