{"id":60089,"date":"2019-09-19T19:15:33","date_gmt":"2019-09-19T19:15:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/09\/19\/pentagon-wont-blame-iran-for-saudi-attack-until-saudi-assessment-concludes\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:58:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:58:38","slug":"pentagon-wont-blame-iran-for-saudi-attack-until-saudi-assessment-concludes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/09\/19\/pentagon-wont-blame-iran-for-saudi-attack-until-saudi-assessment-concludes\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon won\u2019t blame Iran for Saudi attack until Saudi assessment concludes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Pentagon is holding off on assigning blame to Iran for an attack on Saudi <\/a>oil refineries because \u201cwe\u2019re not going to get ahead\u201d of the Saudi\u2019s assessment, the Pentagon said Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, the New York Times is reporting that President Donald Trump\u2019s national security aides were scheduled to meet Thursday to \u201crefine a list of potential targets to strike in Iran.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a Pentagon meeting with reporters, Jonathan Rath Hoffman, assistant to the secretary of defense of defense for public affairs, said the U.S. would defer to Saudi Arabia<\/a> and allow them to announce their conclusion for who was behind the attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur position on this has been we\u2019re going to work through with the Saudis as they make their assessment of what took place,\u201d Hoffman told reporters Thursday. \u201cWith regard to that, we\u2019re going to let them put out the information as they go through the assessment. We\u2019re going to be with them working through that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The comments come after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran on Wednesday of being responsible for the attack, which he characterized as an \u201cact of war.\u201d The comments were made to reporters as he traveled to Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the Pentagon said that early indications suggest Iran was behind the incident, Hoffman avoided directly faulting Iran as Pompeo did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIndications are that this is in some way the Iranians are responsible for this,” Hoffman said. \u201cBut we\u2019re going to allow the Saudis to make their own conclusion and present that to the public and the international community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have a high-level of confidence that we will be able to accurately and appropriately attribute the responsible parties for this, but we\u2019re going to continue to work with the Saudis to reach that point,\u201d Hoffman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A decision regarding military action has yet to be made regarding the situation in Iran, and no action will be taken until a final assessment concludes, Hoffman said. In the meantime, the Pentagon is providing Trump multiple options, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat is what we are doing. We are providing him with options, and then he makes the determination of what to do,\u201d Hoffman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump signaled military action was a possibility when he tweeted Sunday that the U.S. was \u201clocked and loaded\u201d as it awaited confirmation that Iran was the \u201cculprit.\u201d He said Monday that he wasn\u2019t trying to instigate a war with Iran, but cautioned that the U.S. has the \u201cstrongest military in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aerial attack on Saudi oil refineries occurred on Saturday, wreaking havoc upon the facility\u2019s oil production. Iran has denied that it was responsible for the attack, and Iran\u2019s defense minister Brig. Gen. Amir Hatami said Wednesday that such accusations were \u201cwholly, seriously and firmly rejected,\u201d according to the Islamic Republic News Agency<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Saudi military spokesman Col. Turki al-Malki said during a news conference Wednesday that the attack was \u201cunquestionably sponsored by Iran,\u201d the Associated Press reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iran\u2019s foreign minister, Javad Zarif, recently told CNN that a U.S. strike on Iran would trigger an \u201call out war.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tensions have escalated with Iran during the Trump administration, who withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that is formally the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The deal put limits on Iran’s nuclear program, and lifted crippling sanctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, severe sanctions were reimposed following the Trump administration\u2019s withdrawal from the agreement, and Iran is about to get hit with even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump announced Wednesday Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin has been directed to \u201csubstantially increase\u201d sanctions against Tehran. However, the president did not elaborate<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Clip from my interview with @CNN<\/a>: pic.twitter.com\/VEWXRlV8m9<\/a><\/p>— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) September 19, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote>