TEHRAN – Iran on Sunday dismissed US accusations it was behind droneattacks on Saudi oil installations, suggesting the United States wasseeking a pretext to retaliate against the Islamic republic.
“Such fruitless and blind accusations and remarks are incomprehensible andmeaningless,” foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi was quoted as sayingin a statement.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned Iran after Saturday’s attacks,which knocked out half of Saudi Arabia’s oil production.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Shiite Huthi rebels claimed responsibility for thedrone strikes, but Pompeo said “there is no evidence the attacks came fromYemen”.
“The United States will work with our partners and allies to ensure thatenergy markets remain well supplied and Iran is held accountable for itsaggression,” the top US diplomat tweeted.
Mousavi said the US allegations over the pre-dawn strikes on Abqaiq andKhurais in Eastern Province were meant to justify actions against Iran.
“Such remarks… are more like plotting by intelligence and secretorganisations to damage the reputation of a country and create a frameworkfor future actions,” he said.
Tehran and Washington have been at loggerheads since May last year whenPresident Donald Trump pulled out of a 2015 deal that promised Iran relieffrom sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.——————————
*‘Maximum lying’ *——————————
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Since the withdrawal, the United States has slapped crippling sanctions onIran as part of a campaign of “maximum pressure” and the Islamic republichas responded by reducing its commitments to the nuclear accord.
“The Americans have taken the policy of ‘maximum pressure’ which hasapparently turned into ‘maximum lying’ due to their failures,” said Mousavi.
The arch-foes were on the cusp of confrontation in June when Iran downed aUS drone and Trump ordered retaliatory strikes before cancelling them atthe last minute.
In remarks published Sunday, the commander of the Islamic RevolutionaryGuard Corps’ aerospace arm said Iran’s missiles could hit US bases andships within a range of 2,000 kilometres (about 1,240 miles).
“Neither us nor the Americans want a war,” Brigadier General AmiraliHajizadeh said, quoted by Tasnim news agency, which is considered close tothe Guards.
“Of course, some forces facing each other in the field could do something,by which a war could start,” the commander said.
“We have always prepared ourselves for a full-fledged war… everyoneshould know that all American bases and their vessels in a 2,000-kilometrerange can be targeted by our missiles,” he added. -APP/AFP
