PM Imran telephones Saudi crown prince to condemn attack on oil facilities

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday night phoned Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman to condemn the attack on the Kingdom's oil facilities.

The premier, during the conversation with MBS, vowed to support Saudi Arabia against any terrorist attack and reiterated that Pakistan will stand by Saudi Arabia in case of any threat to the sanctity or security of the Arab nation.

Imran Khan reiterated Pakistan’s full support and solidarity with the brotherly country against any threat to its security and territorial integrity. The Saudi crown prince said that Saudi Arabia has capability to fight against terrorists.

Earlier on Monday, a Saudi-led coalition said that an attack on Saudi Arabia that triggered the biggest jump in oil prices in almost 30 years was carried out with Iranian weapons, as President Donald Trump said Washington was “locked and loaded” to hit back.

The rebel Houthi group that controls Yemen’s capital claimed responsibility for the attack, which knocked out more than half of Saudi Arabia’s oil production and damaged the world’s biggest crude processing plant. Iran denied the accusations that it was behind the attack. 

UN Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths told the Security Council on Monday it was “not entirely clear” who was behind the strike but he said it had increased the chances of a regional conflict.

But US Ambassador to the world body, Kelly Craft, told the Council that emerging information on the attacks “indicates that responsibility lies with Iran” and that there is no evidence the attack came from Yemen.