Locked And Loaded: The U.S., Saudi Arabia and Iran

WAMU 88.5

Published September 17, 2019 at 9:06 AM CDT

This picture shows an Aramco oil facility near al-Khurj area, just south of the Saudi capital Riyadh. - Saudi Arabia raced today to restart operations at oil plants hit by drone attacks which slashed its production by half, as Iran dismissed US claims it was behind the assault.
The Tehran-backed Huthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is bogged down in a five-year war, have claimed this weekend's strikes on two plants owned by state giant Aramco in eastern Saudi Arabia. (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP) (Photo credit should read FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images) — This picture shows an Aramco oil facility near al-Khurj area, just south of the Saudi capital Riyadh. - Saudi Arabia raced today to restart operations at oil plants hit by drone attacks which slashed its production by half, as Iran dismissed US claims it was behind the assault. The Tehran-backed Huthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is bogged down in a five-year war, have claimed this weekend's strikes on two plants owned by state giant Aramco in eastern Saudi Arabia. (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP) (Photo credit should read FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images)

The possibility of an armed conflict between Iran and the United States increased Sunday as American officials accused Iran of being involved in an attack on oil-producing facilities in Saudi Arabia.

President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday that the White House knew the identity of the culprit behind the attack. He also said that the U.S. military is “locked and loaded,” but that he was waiting on information from Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia oil supply was attacked. There is reason to believe that we know the culprit, are locked and loaded depending on verification, but are waiting to hear from the Kingdom as to who they believe was the cause of this attack, and under what terms we would proceed!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 15, 2019

Iran dismissed the allegations on Monday, saying that they were “baseless” and “unacceptable.” Iran’s Revolutionary Guard force said Sundaythat it was prepared for a “full-scale war” and that its missiles could hit U.S. bases and ships within 1,240 miles.

How likely is an Iranian missile launch? What does this mean for oil prices in the United States? We talk an expert on Iran-U.S. relations to find out.

GUESTS

Robin Wright, Analyst and fellow, Woodrow Wilson International Center; author of “Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World”; contributing writer to The New Yorker;

@wrightr

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