OF THE
TIMES
Both drones and cruise missiles were used to attack the refinery at Abqaiq and the Khurais oil field, flying over southern Iraq and Kuwait to avoid Saudi air defenses, according to CNN's source. This information was also quoted by AFP, but it was unclear whether their source was the same official or a different one.See also:
CBS News quoted a "senior US official" who said the Saudi air defenses did not stop the drones and missiles because they were pointed south, to detect and prevent attacks from Yemen.
While Washington immediately blamed Iran for the attack, the Saudi authorities have been more circumspect, with Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman saying they "don't know" who was behind it just yet.
France was likewise skeptical, with Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian telling reporters he had seen no evidence indicating the origin of the attack just yet.
"Up to now, France does not have any proof that would allow us to say where the drones came from," Le Drian, who is on a working visit to Egypt, told reporters on Tuesday.
Speaking at a news conference with his Egyptian colleague, Le Drian urged a "strategy of de-escalation" and seconded Saudi calls to involve the UN in the investigation.
Of course the saudis know, but the humiliation is too great to admit to, for their arrogant and privileged leadership.
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