UPDATE - US Lawmakers Warn Trump Against Waging Unauthorized War On Saudi Arabia's Behalf

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UPDATE - US Lawmakers Warn Trump Against Waging Unauthorized War on Saudi Arabia's Behalf

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th September, 2019) Two US senators in separate statements slammed President Donald Trump for threatening to launch an unlawful war on behalf of Riyadh over recent attacks on Saudi oil facilities.

"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,'" US Senator Chris 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."

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.

US Senator Tom Udall in a separate statement denounced the president for taking to Twitter to say that that the United States is ready to go to war against Iran on behalf of Saudi Arabia.

"Saudi Arabia's oil interests do not determine whether the United States goes to war - the US Congress does. Rather than threats of war, the right move is active diplomacy to lower tensions in the region," Udall said.

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.