Saudi Arabia threatens strikes on Iran after regime hit energy sites across the Gulf and sent prices soaring
Saudi Arabia has threatened to hit Iran after attacks on oil and gas sites across the Gulf saw energy prices spike across the world.
Listen to this article
In a stark warning, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the Saudi foreign minister, warned on Thursday night that the Kingdom's patience with Tehran is wearing thin.
The statement came after Iran hit an oil refinery and fired eight ballistic missiles at Riyadh.
“This pressure from Iran will backfire politically and morally and certainly we reserve the right to take military actions if deemed necessary,” he said.
Read More: WATCH: Moment Trump makes joke about Pearl Harbour during meeting with Japan's PM
Read More: Trump rages at Israeli attack on Iranian gas field as he demands no more strikes on energy sites
In recent days, the Iran war has entered a new phase following the Israeli strike on the South Pars gas field.
The strikes, which were condemned by US President Donald Trump, saw the Islamic Republic declare energy site in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
After the warning, Iranian strikes hit a liquid natural gas (LNG) facility in Qatar before taking aim at Saudi Arabia.
The attacks on the Ras Laffan plant in Qatar caused damage that will take years to repair and sent prices up by 35 per cent.
The fallout from the new phase of the war could severely impact Britain, which relies on LNG for 35 per cent of its domestic energy use.
Despite the price of oil rising by eight per cent to $116-a-barrel on Thursday, President Trump sought to reassure Americans.
“It will be over soon,” he said. “We had great everything and I saw all that was happening in Iran, and I said, ‘I hate to make this excursion, but we’re going to have to do it.’ I actually thought the numbers would be worse. I thought that it would go up more than it did,” he added.
In response to the attack on South Pars on Wednesday, the President wrote on Truth Social: "Israel, out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East, has violently lashed out at a major facility known as South Pars Gas Field in Iran."
He went on to claim he had no prior knowledge of the strikes and defended Qatar, branding Iran's actions "unjustifiable".
"A relatively small section of the whole has been hit. The United States knew nothing about this particular attack, and the country of Qatar was in no way, shape, or form, involved with it, nor did it have any idea that it was going to happen."
Referring to reprisal attacks from Iran on the Qatari LNG facility, Trump added: "Unfortunately, Iran did not know this, or any of the pertinent facts pertaining to the South Pars attack, and unjustifiably and unfairly attacked a portion of Qatar’s LNG Gas facility."