WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 , 2019. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ SU A
suggesting Pentagon leaders w ere
not preparing an imminent retal-
iatory strike.
“If this was an attack on Saudi
Arabia, and they requested help in
defending themselves, we would
be supporting Saudi Arabia.
That’s the framework within
which w e would p rovide t he presi-
dent options,” h e said.
The general said Trump had
not issued orders for any action.
“The president has made it clear
he is not looking to go to war.
Having said that, what we saw was
an unacceptable act of aggres-
sion,” he said. “There are a num-
ber of ways to deal w ith that.”
Vice President Pence told Re-
publican senators Tuesday that
the main goal now was to “restore
deterrence” but that he has not
endorsed any sort of kinetic strike
against Iran or its assets, Sen.
Lindsey O. G raham (R-S.C.) said.
Pence did n ot directly fault Iran
for the strike but echoed Trump’s
words that “it is likely that it was
Iran,” said Sen. James E. Risch
(R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee.
Risch added: “ Based on past infor-
mation, the president is on very
solid g round saying that.”
Pence’s meeting with Republi-
cans took place d uring their w eek-
ly policy lunch behind closed
doors and stuck closely to topics
that have been made public. He
did not discuss the details of any
options to respond to the attack,
senators who were present said,
and encouraged lawmakers to re-
view the available intelligence
themselves.
Lawmakers a re trying to sched-
ule a briefing with senior defense
and intelligence officials later this
week.
“We did not come to a consen-
sus, nor probably should at this
point,” Risch said, noting that
eventual agreement on the path
forward “should be bipartisan.”
He said that the administration
had been “very forthcoming” but
that “there’s going to be more
factual information coming out in
the coming days.”
Despite Pence’s holding back
on a final verdict, Graham said
that “no one doubted” Iran was
responsible.
“It’s inconceivable an attack
like this could have occurred with-
out the ayatollah’s blessing,” he
said.
[email protected]
[email protected]Fahim reported from Istanbul. Erin
Cunningham in Istanbul, Paul Sonne
in London, and Missy Ryan, Dan
Lamothe and Karoun Demirjian in
Washington contributed to this report.sonnel were assisting Saudi Ara-
bia with its investigation but that
officials would wait for the king-
dom to make a determination
about responsibility.
Speaking to reporters in Lon-
don, Dunford said Iran or its prox-
ies were probably behind the inci-
dent, which he described as a
“very complex, precise attack.”
But h e declined to say whether the
United States had formally deter-
mined whether it originated in
Iran.
Dunford also made reference to
the limited visibility the U.S. gov-
ernment has into what happens i n
the Middle East.
“We don’t have overhead im-
agery to share, we don’t have
tracks to share, we don’t have an
unblinking eye over the entire
Middle East at all times,” he said.“Our intelligence surveillance re-
connaissance capabilities are fo-
cused on threats routinely to us,
so we wouldn’t necessarily see
everything that goes on in the
region.”
Dunford said the attack dif-
fered from previous Houthi
strikes in Saudi Arabia, which
have occurred regularly since the
kingdom’s war with the Yemeni
rebels began more than f our years
ago.
Dunford said Gen. Kenneth
McKenzie Jr., who heads the mili-
tary command stretching from
Egypt to Pakistan, had not re-
quested additional forces in the
wake of the attacks beyond the
70,000 to 80,000 now under his
command in the r egion.
In considering potential re-
sponses, Dunford said, he was
“thinking about options to help
the Saudis defend themselves”
and about “restoring deterrence,”projectiles originated, and U.S. offi-
cials said the kingdom may ask the
U.N. Security Council to condemn
Iran if it is proved to be responsible.
“We do see a role for the U.N.
Security Council to play,” a senior
administration official said Tues-
day, speaking to reporters on the
condition of anonymity to discuss
the factors more frankly. Saudi
Arabia “was attacked, and it would
be appropriate for them to call
upon the council. But we first need
to gather the releasable informa-
tion.”
The official said the rebels’ claim
of responsibility does not hold up,
nor does their assertion that 10
drones were used in the assault.
“The main oil processing facility
at Abqaiq was struck at least 17
times. And a separate oil facility
was struck at least twice by preci-
sion-guided munitions,” the offi-
cial said.
Pompeo’s whirlwind visit will
allow him to discuss ways to re-
spond to Iran’s actions in the re-
gion, including its support for the
rebels in Yemen, who are known as
Houthis, amid a Saudi-led bomb-
ing campaign that has killed thou-
sands of Yemeni civilians.
In the seaside Saudi city of Jid-
dah, where he will arrive Wednes-
day, Pompeo will meet with Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman,
the State Department said. They
will confer on the recent attack and
coordinate on countering Iran.
Later, Pompeo will visit Abu
Dhabi to meet with the emirate’s
Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Zayed. The UAE’s foreign minister
has called the attack on Saudi Ara-
bia a “dangerous escalation” and
said it has nothing to do with the
war in Yemen.
In a tweet Saturday, Pompeo
blamed Iran for what he called “an
unprecedented attack on the
world’s energy supply,” saying
there was “no evidence” it came
from Yemen. He has not offered
evidence for his claims.
Iran has denied any involve-
ment in the strikes, the worst on
Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure
in a generation.
In his remarks Tuesday,
Khamenei said that if the United
States returns to the 2015 nuclear
deal that Te hran struck with
world powers, then it could take
part in negotiations with Iran and
the agreement’s o ther signatories.
The Trump administration with-
drew from the pact and has im-
posed economic sanctions and an
embargo o n oil exports on Iran.
Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr.,
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, said that U.S. military per-
SAUDI FROM A
Pompeo heads to Saudi Arabia, UAE
amid tensions with Iran after attack
ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCKA Tehran mural depicts Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, and his late predecessor,
Ruhollah Khomeini. On Tuesday, Khamenei ruled out any direct talks with the United States.
“If this was an attack
on Saudi Arabia, and
they requested help in
defending themselves,
we would be supporting
Saudi Arabia. That’s
the framework within
which we would
provide the president
options.”
Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr.,
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