Supreme leader digs in after Teheran blamed for attacks on Saudi oil facilities

TEHERAN - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced on Tuesday that "there will be no talks with the United States at any level", as tensions mount between the two countries after Washington blamed Teheran for attacks on Saudi oil installations, which Iran has denied.

Iranian state TV quoted Khamenei as saying this is the position of the entire leadership of the country and that "all officials in the Islamic Republic unanimously believe" this.

Khamenei said the US wants to prove its "maximum pressure policy" against Iran is successful.

"In return, we have to prove that the policy is not worth a penny for the Iranian nation," Khamenei said. "That's why all Iranian officials, from the president and the foreign minister to all others have announced that we do not negotiate (with the US) either bilaterally or multilaterally."

There had been reports about a possible meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, during the upcoming United Nations General Assembly this month in New York.

But tensions roiling the Persian Gulf have escalated following a weekend attack on major oil sites in Saudi Arabia that the US alleged Iran was responsible for - a charge Iran has denied.

The attack on Saudi Arabia, which set ablaze a crucial Saudi oil processing plant and a key oilfield, was claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels, who are at war with a Saudi-led coalition that is trying to restore Yemen's internationally recognized government to power.

Around 3 million barrels per day of Saudi oil will remain offline for a month, about half the production halted by the devastating attacks, S&P Platts said on Tuesday.

Trump said on Monday it looked like Iran was behind the attacks on the oil plants but stressed he did not want to go to war, as the strikes sent oil prices soaring and raised fears of a new Middle East conflict.

The strikes damaged the world's biggest crude-processing plant and triggered the largest jump in crude prices in decades.

Rouhani said the drone attacks were a "legitimate defense and counterattack" against the Saudi-led war in Yemen.

"Regarding the drones' attack, this problem has its root in invading Yemen. They (the Saudi-led coalition) are bombing Yemen on a daily basis," he said during a summit in Turkey to discuss Syrian crisis with the Russian and Turkish leaders.

Raising concerns

In Riyadh, officials said on Monday initial investigations indicate that Iranian weapons were used in the attacks and it "will invite UN and international experts to view the situation on the ground and to participate in the investigations".

A statement from the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: "The kingdom will take the appropriate measures based on the results of the investigation, to ensure its security and stability."

It called Saturday's attack that resulted in the suspension of approximately 50 percent of Saudi Aramco's production "an unprecedented act of aggression and sabotage" and an "egregious crime which threatens international peace and security".

Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, who currently chairs the UN Security Council, said the attacks on the Saudi oil installations were "unanimously and unequivocally condemned" by all 15 council members.

As for Trump's statement that the US is "locked and loaded" to respond if necessary, Nebenzia said: "We are very concerned that incidents similar to this may provoke larger conflicts in the Gulf."

Agencies