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Washington (CNN) - US defense officials were ordered to plan possible responses to the attack on Saudi oil facilities in a meeting on Monday with President Donald Trump, but the White House is waiting for the rulers of the kingdom decide on an answer before plotting a path to follow, administration officials and sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
Two US defense officials said that at the White House meeting the Pentagon was instructed to "make plans," but added that no detailed options were presented.
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A source familiar with the White House discussions said that the administration feels that time is on its side while preparing a case against Iran, which has denied responsibility for the attacks. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would travel to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday night to consult with the rulers there and the source said nothing will be done until Pompeo has returned and Trump's national security team has left. gathered.
'Stupid Movements'
"There are no instinctive reactions to this, it is very systematic, what is done with patience is what prevents stupid movements," said the source.
The approach is already being criticized. Sen. Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who has advocated an attack on Iran in response to the Saudi attack, tweeted on Tuesday that “President @realDonaldTrump’s measured response to the demolition of a US drone was clearly seen by the Iranian regime as a sign of weakness. ”
Trump responded with his own tweet and replied: "No Lindsey, it was a sign of strength that some people just don't understand."
Administration officials estimate that with the United Nations General Assembly, which will take place in New York next week, US officials will have the opportunity to meet with world leaders and discuss the next steps. It is very unlikely that anything will be done before that, said a source familiar with the discussions in the White House.
The attack, claimed by the Houthi rebels in Yemen, forced the state-owned Saudi Aramco to reduce its production by half, eliminating more than 5% of the world's daily crude oil consumption from the global market.
Cyber and operational attacks against Iranian oil refineries were evaluated after the fall of a US drone into the Strait of Hormuz in June, but there has been no serious consideration to review those options, the source said.
Trump has repeatedly said that the responsibility lies with Saudi Arabia when it comes to dictating the way forward and has made it clear that he is in no hurry.
"We have to sit with the Saudis and solve something," he told reporters yesterday. "That was an attack against Saudi Arabia and not an attack against us."
"We have many options, but I'm not reviewing the options at this time," Trump said. “We want to be sure who did this. We are dealing with Saudi Arabia ... We will see what happens. ”
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Defense officials also said that the US Central Command has not made additional requests for forces in the region following the attack and that the position of US soldiers in the region has not been adjusted.
But U.S. Vice President Mike Pence made it clear Tuesday that military action is an option.
“After the unprovoked attack this weekend against several oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, I promise you that we are ready. As the president said, we do not want war with anyone, but the United States is prepared, we are loaded and safe, ”said Pence, while describing the US military as the“ best equipped, best trained and technologically advanced combat force in the world "
During a speech at the Heritage Foundation, Pence said the US intelligence community is working to "review the evidence" of the attack and announced that Pompeo would travel to Saudi Arabia to consult with the rulers of the Kingdom.
"I'd rather not meet him"
Pence spoke while Trump, on his way to California, reversed his previous comments that indicated his readiness to meet with Iranian officials, and told reporters that he was no longer interested in seeing President Hassan Rouhani on the sidelines of the General Assembly. from the ONU.
"I never rule out anything, but I prefer not to meet him," Trump said.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who also spoke on Tuesday, ruled out the possibility and said "there will be no negotiation with the United States at any level." The Iranian supreme leader left only a small window for future multilateral talks: "If the United States repudiates, it regrets and returns to the nuclear treaty it violated." Otherwise, the Iranian government will not meet with any of the US officials, "neither in New York nor anywhere else."
Iran's Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, accused Pompeo of "maximum deception" and US officials of being "in denial" if they believe the Yemeni Houthis would not attack Saudi Arabia after more than four years of war that It has brought millions of Yemeni civilians to the brink of hunger.
US Under Secretary of the Press, Hogan Gidley, told reporters on Tuesday that the administration "cannot definitely say" that Iran was behind the attack on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia and is still in the process of presenting the case to the people. American.
A defense official told CNN that the United States has images that suggest the attack originated from Iran, including evidence that weapons are being prepared for launch within the country. CNN has not seen the images.
While Saudi Arabia is recovering, a US defense official told CNN that Washington has a team of forensic experts on the ground to help analyze the site of the attack and the unexploded missiles that did not reach their intended targets.
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Another US official with direct knowledge of the latest information said that Saudi Arabia has recovered completely intact circuit boards from one of the weapons used in the attack and that drones and cruise missiles were used. CNN has not seen evidence to support those claims.
The official added that the Saudis and the United States hope to track the point of origin of the circuit board to Iran, noting that the routes taken by the missiles or drones avoided the areas where the radar systems of the United States and Saudi Arabia are more strong and that the attack was sophisticated.
"They have the capacity"
A senior administration official said the Houthis do not have the ability to attack from Yemen. “The Houthis have never used this type of unmanned vehicles, neither the unmanned vehicles nor the cruise missiles used in the attack can reach the facilities from Yemen. It's not possible".
The United Nations says otherwise. UN officials issued a report in January that said the capabilities of Houthi drones seem to have become significantly more sophisticated last year, able to travel distances that put Saudi Arabia’s targets within reach and cause a lot of damage. greater than its previous drones, which could travel a maximum of 150 kilometers
"The most distinctive feature of the UAV-X is its significantly greater strength and range," said the report on the new drone model, adding that "it can have a maximum range of between 1,200 km and 1,500 km, depending on the conditions of the wind. This would give credibility to the Houthis' claims that they have the ability to attack targets such as Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. ”
Betsy Klein, Vasco Cotovio and Sara Mazloumsaki of CNN contributed to this report
