FM spox:

Saudi blame game coverup for Riyadh’s failures

TEHRAN (defapress) – Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mousavi has categorically refuted Saudi Arabia’s “repeated and baseless” accusations regarding the attacks on the kingdom’s oil installations.

News ID: 78771

Date: 22 September 2019 - 10:47

In a statement on Saturday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi voiced regret that the Saudi government, “with the illusion of an Iranian animosity”, and “by evading the existing realities” was constantly trying to distract from its own failures by pinning the blame on Iran.

Mousavi then advised the Saudi government to stop leveling baseless accusations on others, and instead put an immediate end to the war in Yemen that has brought the kingdom nothing but the death of many innocents and destruction of Yemen since the Saudi-led, US-backed coalition started the war there in 2015.

The Yemeni Ansarullah movement conducted a large-scale operation against Saudi Arabia’s Aramco oil installations last Saturday, in response to the Saudi-led war on their country.

Although the movement immediately took credit for the attacks, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo swiftly accused Iran of being behind the assault, without providing any evidence. Tehran categorically rejected the allegations.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia claimed on Wednesday that the strikes on its oil infrastructure came from the “north” and were “unquestionably” sponsored by Iran, adding that the Houthis were not responsible for the assault despite claiming it.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also lashed out at the US and Saudis for blaming Iran for the drone attack, saying even Riyadh officials do not believe the fiction of Iranian involvement in the attacks.

“Since the Saudi regime has blamed Iran—baseless as that is—for the attacks on its oil facilities, curious that they retaliated against Hodaideh in Yemen today—breaking a UN ceasefire. It is clear that even the Saudis themselves don't believe the fiction of Iranian involvement,” Zarif tweeted on Saturday.

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