Time will tell if Trump's Iran strategy proves effective after Saudi Arabia attack
CHINA.ORG.CN
A drone-led attack on Saudi Arabia's main oil processing plant at Abqaiq on Sept. 14 cut the country's production by half and the global supply by 5%. In the immediate aftermath, oil prices surged 20% as well. At first, the Houthis, a Yemen-based rebel group aligned with Iran, claimed responsibility. But the Saudis and the U.S. believe that Iran was behind the attack, leading to commentators and analysts watching closely to see what they would do.
Rather than immediate military response, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was looking at "many options" on how to deal with Iran. Among them include a proposal to increase economic sanctions against Iran. Another was to wait and see what United Nations investigators discover at the site as well as what the Saudis propose. To show they mean business, the U.S. also dispatched troops to the Gulf, presumably to provide vanguard for any military action but also to help support Saudi Arabia's air defenses which failed to stop the drone attack.
