The US earlier accused Iran of conducting strikes against Saudi Aramco refineries, but President Donald Trump said at the time that Washington would wait to decide on its response until after Riyadh finishes its own investigation and identifies the “culprit”.
US President Donald Trump has stated that his earlier decision not to attack Iran was a sign of strength, as it's always easier to attack than to withhold a strike. The POTUS added that he has “many options” on the table regarding how to respond to Tehran's alleged involvement in the attack on Saudi refineries on 14 September.
“There's the ultimate option and there are options a lot less than that”, Trump said, elaborating that the “ultimate option” stands for “war”.
The US president further stated that Washington hasn't learned much recently about the strikes on the Saudi Aramco facilities last week, but claimed that the US already knows what exactly happened that day.
The US previously accused Iran of attacking Saudi refineries, despite Yemen's Houthi movement claiming responsibility for it. Tehran has dismissed the accusations as “unacceptable and entirely baseless”. Despite this, Trump has said that the US is “locked and loaded” to respond to the attack, but added that the US would wait for Saudi Arabia to identify the “culprit”.
The Saudi Defence Ministry, in turn, stated on 18 September that an Iranian cruise missile and Delta Wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)
