Saudi Arabia’s assertions backed by the United States that Iran was behind the last year’s attacks on the Saudi Aramco oil facilities were vindicated by United Nations findings in a confidential report seen by some journalists, Saudi Gazette reported.
The UN found that the weapons used in that attack were of “Iranian origin,” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council in the report.
Guterres said the UN examined debris of missile and a swarm of drones used in attacks on a Saudi oil facility in Afif in May 2019, on the Abha international airport in June and August and on the Saudi Aramco oil facilities in Khurais and Abqaiq in September.
According to a Bloomberg report, the investigators concluded that the drones used in the attacks were of Iranian origin. The engines on those aircraft showed similarities to an Iranian engine designated as Shahed 783, presented by Iran in a military exhibition in May 2014, the UN said.
“The Secretariat assesses that the cruise missiles and/or parts thereof used in the four attacks are of Iranian origin,” Guterres wrote. The UN chief also said that drones used in the May and September attacks were “of Iranian origin.”
Guterres also said the United Nations had observed that some items in the two US seizures “were identical or similar” to those found in the debris of the cruise missiles and the drones used in the 2019 attacks on Saudi Arabia.
He also pointed out that “these items may have been transferred in a manner inconsistent with” UN resolutions.
The attacks were, however, claimed by the Houthi militia but the planning and sophistication used in carrying out the assaults suggested an Iranian involvement.
The findings come as the Trump administration is pushing for a UN arms embargo on Iran that is expiring this year as part of the 2015 nuclear deal, from which President Donald Trump has withdrawn.
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