Iran on Wednesday warned the United States that it will “immediately” respond to “any action” taken by Washington against the country over its alleged involvement in the recent drone attacks that disrupted about half of Saudi Arabia’s oil capacity. Both Washington and Riyadh are accusing Iran of carrying out the attack, which was claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, but Tehran is denying any involvement.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Saudi Arabia to discuss the situation. On Wednesday, the Kingdom announced that it is joining a US-led coalition to patrol the Straits of Hormuz (between the south of Iran and the Arabian peninsula) and the Bab al-Mandab (between Yemen and the Horn of Africa) amid rising tensions in the region.
In a separate incident, Iranian state news reported that Iran may not attend the upcoming UN General Assembly this month in New York because its delegation has not yet received the necessary visas from Washington. Before the drone attack took place analysts had been speculating about a possible meeting between US President Trump and his Iranian counterpart President Hassan Rouhani on the sidelines of the UN event.
Read more: Iran warns US of response to any action over Saudi attack