Aramco Attacks An “Act Of War” By Iran: Pompeo After Arriving In Jeddah

What’s the end game here? Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has just arrived in Jeddah for talks with Saudi leaders over a response to the weekend attacks on two of the kingdom’s major oil facilities. 

After a prior press conference by the Saudi Defense Ministry where it for the first time assigned public blame on Iran for the attacks which initially knocked out half of the kingdom’s daily oil output, saying the air attacks “unquestionably” had Iranian state sponsorship, Pompeo has announced the Aramco attacks constitute an “act of war” by Iran. 

#BREAKING: US Secretary of State Pompeo while in #SaudiArabia: #Aramco attacks an ‘act of war’ by #Iran pic.twitter.com/iBKMIgNimy

— Anna Ahronheim (@AAhronheim) September 18, 2019

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

And President Trump himself said Wednesday from the White House that it looks like Iran did it but that he still hopes to avoid war.

He announced via a statement on Twitter that, “I have just instructed the Secretary of the Treasury to substantially increase Sanctions on the country of Iran!” — in what appears an alternative to launching a military response. 

“I’m not looking to get into new conflict, but sometimes you have to,” Trump told reporters Wednesday.

Pompeo’s new “act of war” declaration indeed takes the potential for escalation right back to boiling point.

Pompeo is in Jedda where he’s expected to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to evaluate a possible response, where the are expected to “coordinate efforts to counter Iranian aggression in the region,” according to a State Department statement.

Meanwhile, if the ‘military option’ is being considered, it appears we could be in the beginning phases of an international coalition response. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced he and Trump held a phone call to discuss the need for a “united diplomatic response from international partners” after the Aramco attacks. 

The fact that Johnson’s statement included the word “diplomatic” – along with Trump’s emphasis on extending stronger sanctions – is a good sign however, that the White House is not prepping for war.