{"id":26339,"date":"2019-09-23T22:46:08","date_gmt":"2019-09-23T22:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/09\/23\/uk-france-germany-blame-iran-for-saudi-oil-attacks\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T06:22:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T06:22:27","slug":"uk-france-germany-blame-iran-for-saudi-oil-attacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/09\/23\/uk-france-germany-blame-iran-for-saudi-oil-attacks\/","title":{"rendered":"UK, France Germany blame Iran for Saudi oil attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">UNITED NATIONS \u2014 Britain, France and Germany joined the United States on Monday in blaming Iran for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/09\/18\/saudi-arabia-says-iran-missiles-drones-attacked-oil-sites\/\" target=_blank>attacks on key oil facilities in Saudi Arabia<\/a>, but the Iranian foreign minister pointed to claims of responsibility by Yemeni rebels and said: \u201cIf Iran were behind this attack, nothing would have been left of this refinery.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fallout from the Sept. 14 attacks is still reverberating as world leaders gather for their annual meeting at the U.N. General Assembly and international experts continue, at Saudi Arabia\u2019s request, to investigate what happened and who was responsible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The leaders of the U.K., France and Germany \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2019\/07\/15\/eu-works-to-save-unraveling-nuclear-agreement-with-iran\/\" target=\"_blank\">who remain parties to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal<\/a> \u2014 said in a statement that \u201cthere is no other plausible explanation\u201d than that \u201cIran bears responsibility for this attack.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/09\/22\/iran-president-says-west-should-distance-themselves-from-persian-gulf-leave-security-to-regional-nations\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19265237770500.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Iran president says West should \u2018distance\u2019 themselves from Persian Gulf, leave security to regional nations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Iran\u2019s president called Sunday on Western powers to leave the security of the Persian Gulf to regional nations led by Tehran, criticizing a new U.S.-led coalition patrolling the region\u2019s waterways as nationwide parades showcased the Islamic Republic\u2019s military arsenal.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said late Sunday while flying to New York that the U.K. is now \u201cattributing responsibility with a very high degree of probability to Iran\u201d for the attacks by drones and cruise missiles on the world\u2019s largest oil processor and an oil field. He said the U.K. would consider taking part in a U.S.-led military effort to bolster Saudi Arabia\u2019s defenses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iran\u2019s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, denied any part in the attacks. He said Yemen\u2019s Houthi rebels, who claimed responsibility, \u201chave every reason to retaliate\u201d for the Saudi-led coalition\u2019s aerial attacks on their country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also stressed that on the eve of President Hassan Rouhani\u2019s visit to the United Nations \u2014 which sits in the middle of New York City \u2014 \u201cit would be stupid for Iran to engage in such activity.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">France has been trying to find a diplomatic solution to U.S.-Iranian tensions, which soared after the Saudi attacks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">French President Emmanuel Macron said at a news conference at the U.N. that he planned to meet separately with both Trump and Rouhani over the next day and would work to foster \u201cthe conditions for discussion\u201d and not escalation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Macron called the Sept. 14 strikes \u201ca game-changer, clearly\u201d but reiterated France\u2019s willingness to mediate. <\/p>\n\n\n<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link smg-interstitial-link--fallback wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/2019\/06\/04\/what-war-with-iran-could-look-like\/?utm_source=clavis\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__fallback-link\">What war with Iran could look like<\/a><\/aside>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Zarif, however, ruled out any Iran-U.S. meeting. He said Iran had received no request from the U.S., \u201cand we have made clear that a request alone will not do the job.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said Trump \u201cclosed the door to negotiations\u201d with the latest U.S. sanctions, which labeled the country\u2019s central bank a \u201cglobal terrorist\u201d institution \u2014 a designation the Iranian minister said the U.S. president and his successors may not be able to change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI know that President Trump did not want to do that. I know he must have been misinformed,\u201d said Zarif, meeting with U.N. correspondents Monday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Zarif said he plans to meet Wednesday with ministers of the five countries remaining in the 2015 nuclear deal from which Trump withdrew \u2014 Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Johnson, the U.K. prime minister, urged Trump to strike a new nuclear deal with Iran. While Britain still backs the existing agreement and wants Iran to stick to its terms, Johnson said in the long term, there should be a new agreement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhatever your objections with the old nuclear deal with Iran, it\u2019s time now to move forward and do a new deal,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Asked later Monday about Johnson\u2019s suggestion, Trump said he respects Johnson and believes the current agreement expires too soon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shortly before leaving for the U.N. meetings Monday, Iran\u2019s Rouhani said on state television that his country will invite Persian Gulf nations to join an Iranian-led coalition \u201cto guarantee the region\u2019s security.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rouhani said the plan is not limited to security but also encompasses economic cooperation and an initiative for \u201clong-term\u201d peace. He planned on presenting details while at the United Nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iran\u2019s president had already called on Western powers Sunday to leave the security of the Persian Gulf to regional nations led by Tehran. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Zarif said the new Hormuz Peace Initiative \u2014 with the acronym HOPE \u2014 would be formed under a U.N. umbrella with two underlying principles: nonaggression and noninterference. He said it would require a major shift from countries \u201cbuying\u201d security from other nations or mercenaries, and instead promote the notion that \u201cyou can gain security relying on your own people and working with your neighbors.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Johnson said he would meet Rouhani at this week\u2019s high-level U.N. gathering. He said he wanted Britain to be \u201ca bridge between our European friends and the Americans when it comes to the crisis in the Gulf.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/09\/22\/general-says-irans-revolutionary-guard-ready-for-any-scenario-amid-us-standoff\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"203\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1169955141.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Iranian general says Revolutionary Guard ready for \u2018any scenario\u2019 amid US standoff<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Iran\u2019s powerful Revolutionary Guard is ready for combat and \u201cany scenario,\u201d its chief commander said Saturday, as the country\u2019s nuclear deal with world powers collapses and the U.S. alleged Iran was behind a weekend attack on major oil sites in Saudi Arabia that shook global energy markets.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Johnson stressed the need for a diplomatic response to the Gulf tensions but said Britain would consider any request for military help. The Trump administration announced Friday that it would send additional U.S. troops and missile defense equipment to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as part of a \u201cdefensive\u201d deployment. Officials said the number of troops was likely to be in the hundreds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe will be following that very closely,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cAnd clearly if we are asked, either by the Saudis or by the Americans, to have a role, then we will consider in what way we could be useful.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A U.K. official told The Associated Press that a claim of responsibility for the attacks by Iran-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen was \u201cimplausible.\u201d He said remnants of Iran-made cruise missiles were found at the attack site, and \u201cthe sophistication points very, very firmly to Iranian involvement.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence findings, did not say whether Britain believed the attack was launched from Iranian soil. Iran denies responsibility and has warned any retaliatory attack targeting it will result in an \u201call-out war.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile Monday, Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei suggested the release of a British-flagged oil tanker held by Tehran since July would be imminent, though he doesn\u2019t know when the vessel will leave. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Stena Impero has not turned on its satellite-tracking beacon in 58 days, nor has there been any sign that it has left its position off the Iranian coast near the port city of Bandar Abbas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guard seized the Stena Impero after authorities in Gibraltar seized an Iranian crude oil tanker. That ship has since left Gibraltar, leading to hopes the Stena Impero would be released. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz at the United Nations; Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran; and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Britain, France and Germany joined the United States on Monday in blaming Iran for attacks on key oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, but the Iranian foreign minister pointed to claims of responsibility by Yemeni rebels and said: &#8220;If Iran were behind this attack, nothing would have been left of this refinery.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":55000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,8,23,89,12,26,62],"tags":[],"coauthors":[244,594],"class_list":["post-26339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"PXNMMTVL5FCJBLQOF6RQAM5MVA","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2019\/09\/23\/uk-france-germany-blame-iran-for-saudi-oil-attacks\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>UK, France Germany blame Iran for Saudi oil attacks - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Britain, France and Germany joined the United States on Monday in blaming Iran for attacks on key oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, but the Iranian foreign minister pointed to claims of responsibility by Yemeni rebels and said: &quot;If Iran were behind this attack, nothing would have been left of this refinery.&quot;\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/09\/23\/uk-france-germany-blame-iran-for-saudi-oil-attacks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UK, France Germany blame Iran for Saudi oil attacks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Britain, France and Germany joined the United States on Monday in blaming Iran for attacks on key oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, but the Iranian foreign minister pointed to claims of responsibility by Yemeni rebels and said: &quot;If Iran were behind this attack, nothing would have been left of this refinery.&quot;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/09\/23\/uk-france-germany-blame-iran-for-saudi-oil-attacks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Navy Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-23T22:46:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T06:22:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Edith M. 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