Trump Must Brief Congress Before Reacting To Attack On Saudi Oil Fields - Lawmaker

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th September, 2019) US Senator Chris Coons said he is concerned that President Donald Trump is waiting to hear from Saudi Arabia on how to react to the recent attacks on oil facilities especially considering Riyadh is not a treaty ally.

"Following the recent attacks on oil fields in Saudi Arabia, I am concerned by President Trump's statement that he is 'waiting to hear from the Kingdom as to who they believe was the cause of this attack, and under what terms we would proceed,'" Coons said in a statement on Monday. "If President Trump wants to take any military action in response to the attacks, he needs to brief Congress on the relevant intelligence and make the case to Congress and the American people that a military response is necessary and justified.

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Saudi Arabia, Coons added, is not a US treaty ally and the conduct of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has strained relations between the two countries.

On Saturday, Saudi Aramco's Abqaiq plant and its Khurais oil field came under drone attacks that cut the kingdom's crude output in half to around 5.7 million barrels per day.

The Houthi rebel movement in Yemen claimed responsibility for the drone attacks, but US officials have claimed that intelligence indicates Iranian involvement in the incidents. Iran has denied US allegations.