US Military Working With Partners To Defend Against Iran - Defense Secretary

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th September, 2019) The United States is working with its allies to address the recent drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities and to defend the international order against Iran, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said on Monday.

"The United States military, with our interagency team, is working with our partners to address this unprecedented attack and defend the international rules-based order that is being undermined by Iran," Esper said via Twitter.

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 attack but US officials have claimed that intelligence indicates Iranian involvement in the incidents. Iran firmly denied any involvement.

Pentagon officials, Esper added, during a meeting at the White House earlier in the day briefed US President Donald Trump on the situation. Esper also said he spoke with the Saudi Crown Prince on Saturday.

Trump later told reporters that it is "looking" as if Iran was behind the attacks.