US eyes UN action over Saudi blasts

This satellite overview handout image obtained September 16, 2019 courtesy of the US Government shows damage to oil/gas infrastructure from weekend drone attacks at Abqaig on September 15, 2019 in Saudi Arabia. – Drone attacks on key Saudi oil facilities have halved crude output from OPEC’s biggest exporter, catapulting oil prices by the largest amount since the first Gulf War. The crisis has focused minds on unrest in the crude-rich Middle East, with Tehran denying Washington’s charge that it was responsible.Brent oil prices leapt 20 percent on Monday to chalk up the biggest intra-day daily gain since 1991. (Photo by HO / US Government / AFP

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States hopes that the UN Security Council takes up the attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure for which Washington blames Iran, a senior US official said Tuesday.

The official said that Saudi Arabia, as the target of the weekend blasts, needed to take the lead in seeking action by the Security Council but that the United States first needed to prepare information for release.

“We do see a role for the UN Security Council to play,” the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

“Saudi Arabia has been attacked, which has global consequences. The UN Security Council was created to address threats to international peace and security, and this attack meets that criteria,” he said.

He did not specify what action he would seek at the Security Council, where Russia and China wield veto power and have been critical of President Donald Trump’s unilateral sanctions against Iran.

European powers have also distanced themselves from Trump’s hawkish line on Iran and sought to preserve a deal on Tehran’s nuclear program, from which he withdrew.

US officials say that the attacks that hit Abqaiq, one of the world’s largest oil facilities, and the Khurais oil field, originated in Iran.

The blasts were claimed by Yemen’s Huthi rebels, who enjoy support from Iran and have been targeted by a Saudi-led air campaign that has helped trigger a humanitarian catastrophe.