Iran's Rouhani Says US Eager To Use Saudi Aramco Attack For Billion-Dollar Deals

Muhammad Irfan Published September 23, 2019 | 05:16 PM

The United States seeks to use the recent drone attack on Saudi Aramco oil facilities to its utmost advantage by striking billion-dollar deals and attaining a permanent presence in the Middle East, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Monday

TEHRAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd September, 2019) The United States seeks to use the recent drone attack on Saudi Aramco oil facilities to its utmost advantage by striking billion-dollar deals and attaining a permanent presence in the middle East, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Monday.

In the early hours of September 14, a drone attack targeted Saudi Aramco's Abqaiq and Khurais oil facilities, forcing the national oil company to shut them down. This resulted in a more than twofold drop in Saudi Arabia's daily net oil output.

"Americans want to make the most of this opportunity, and they are looking to conclude billion-dollar defense systems contracts with regional countries, indicating that they have other goals for continued presence in the region," Rouhani said, as quoted by the presidential press service statement.

Speaking about the Washington's recent batch of sanctions on Iran, Rouhani said that the United States had not received any satisfying results from them.

"This year, we are visiting the United Nations at the time when US' unjust sanctions against the Iranian nation have reached a level that they themselves admit that there is nothing left to be under sanctions, and this means the Americans are in complete despair," the statement read.

At the United Nations on Tuesday, the leader is expected to present a project for regional cooperation that aims to ensure security in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

Rouhani's trip to the UN headquarters in New York will come against the backdrop of heightened tensions between his country and the United States. While the two countries have traded accusations about their activities in the Middle East and Gulf region on and off for months, things escalated after Washington blamed the attack on Saudi Aramco on Tehran, even though responsibly for the attack was claimed by Yemen's Houthis. Tehran has denied having any role in the incident.�