*Dubai: *
Iran warned the United States that it would broadly retaliate against anyattacks in the wake of crippling strikes on the Saudi oil industry over theweekend, Iranian news agencies reported Wednesday.
The message, which was sent via the Swiss Embassy in Tehran that handlesU.S. affairs in the country, condemned remarks by Secretary of State MikePompeo and other officials linking Iran with the attacks on a Saudi oilfield and processing facility.
“Iran’s response will be prompt and strong, and it may include broaderareas than the source of attacks,” the Mehr News Agency reported theofficial note as saying.
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Iran’s Fars News Agency said any response would be “rapid and crushing” andtarget “more extensive areas than the origin of the attack.” There havelong been fears that Iranian proxy forces in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq andelsewhere might attack U.S. forces in the region.
Yemeni Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attacks, whichtemporarily cut Saudi Arabia’s oil production in half and sent pricesspiking around the world. U.S. officials, however, have cast doubt on therebels’ involvement, saying that the attacks were too sophisticated forthem to have carried out.
