Saudi Arabia attack – Donald Trump draws up plans for military strike on Iran as Tehran vows to shoot down US planes as war fears grow
DONALD Trump is drawing up a hit-list as he hatches plans to clobber Iran following the attacks on the world’s largest oil plant in Saudi Arabia.
The US President is said to have been given a “menu” of options by Pentagon chiefs that includes air raids and crippling cyber attacks.
Trump has said his military was “locked and loaded” as the Middle East moves to the brink of a vicious new war, which threatens most of the world's oil supplies and shipping.
He also announced he has ordered treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin to "substantially increase sanctions" in a bid to further squeeze Iran's faltering economy.
But Iran denies involvement and defiantly vowed to shoot down US warplanes.
In a letter to the United States via the Swiss Embassy, Iran said any move by America against Iran "will get immediate reaction".
Tehran's ally in Yemen’s civil war, the Houthi movement, claimed responsibility for the attacks despite their lack of technology.
But US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that "emerging information indicates that responsibility lies with Iran".
SOPHISTICATED ATTACK
Three officials, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the attacks involved both cruise missiles and drones, and involved a higher degree of complexity and sophistication than initially thought.
Using radar imagery and intelligence, Pentagon analysts have pinpointed the launch site to south western Iran, probably Omidiyeh Air Base and not Yemen as previously thought.
Saudi officials have released photographs of a missile it shot down which resembles a Quds 1, a missile that is made by Iran.
"Almost certainly it's Iranian-backed," Prince Khalid bin Bandar, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United Kingdom, told the BBC.
Notably that weapon has an estimated range of 435 miles which means it could not have been fired from Yemen where a proxy war is being fought between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Questions have been asked how most of the drones and missiles managed to penetrate the Saudis' sophisticated air defences.
Last year alone Saudi Arabia bought £52bn of arms, including US radar and Patriot missiles.
The failure of the weapons prompted Russian leader Vladimir Putin to mockingly say the Saudis should have instead bought his S-400 air defences like Iran.
But according to Saudi sources, air defences did not stop the drones and missiles because they were pointed southwards, to prevent attacks from Yemen.
I think it's difficult to rule out military action
Ex-defence secretary Liam Fox
Former defence and international trade secretary Liam Fox has said that military action against Iran cannot be ruled out following the drone attack on Saudi Arabia oil installations on Saturday.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, Dr Fox said he believed it was becoming increasingly clear that Iran is to blame for the attacks.
He said: "Increasingly, looking at the intelligence sources we have, it seems that is the case."
On whether military action should be taken, Dr Fox added: "You can't rule anything out, nobody wants to see that - Iran haven't ruled military involvement out to its neighbours.
"I think it's difficult to rule out military action."
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Overall tension in the oil-producing Gulf region has dramatically escalated this year after Trump imposed severe sanctions on Iran aimed at halting its oil exports altogether in a bid to shut down its nuclear weapons programme.
In June Iran's ruthless Revolutionary Guard was blamed for attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman.
Iran seized the British flagged Stena Impero on July 19 shortly after the UK detained a vessel in Gibraltar that was allegedly carrying Iranian crude oil to Syria.
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