US President Donald Trump has opted for increased sanctions against Iran rather than a military escalation in response to the attacks on Saudi Arabia.
Speaking via social media he said on Twitter: “I have just instructed the Secretary of the Treasury to substantially increase Sanctions on the country of Iran!”
He made his response after Saudi Arabia put on display drone and missile technology it insisted showed the attack was “unquestionably sponsored by Iran”.
At a press conference in Riyadh a Saudi defence spokesman claimed that “25 drones and cruise missiles” were used in the attack on the Aramco facilities on Saturday, saying repeatedly they had been fired from the north, the direction of Iran.
Trump also defended his lack of military strikes against Iran in response to US senator Lindsey Graham’s claim that it had been a “sign of weakness”.
To which he responded via Twitter: “No, I actually think it’s a sign of strength. We have the strongest military in the world now. And I think it’s a great sign of strength. It’s very easy to attack.
“But if you ask Lindsey, ask him: How did going into the Middle East — how did that work out? And how did going in Iraq work out?
"And, you know, there’s plenty of time to do some dastardly things. It’s very easy to start. We’ll see what happens."
Meanwhile, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo arrived in Jeddah on Wednesday to discuss options with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“We are working to build a coalition to develop a plan to deter them. This is what needs to happen. This is an attack on a scale that we’ve just not seen before,” Pompeo told journalists, describing the assault as “an act of war”.
