The threat follows President Donald Trump warning Tehran a conflict would be the “official end” of Iran. Mr Trump wrote on Twitter: “If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!” Saudi Arabia followed up the rhetoric by issuing a forceful warning to Iran of its own.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir told a news conference: “The kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not want a war in the region nor does it seek that.
“It will do what it can to prevent this war and at the same time it reaffirms that in the event the other side chooses war, the kingdom will respond with all force and determination, and it will defend itself and its interests.”
Riyadh accused Iran of ordering drone strikes on oil pumping stations last week.
The attacks were claimed by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group and came just two days after a pair of Saudi oil tankers were sabotaged off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.
An emergenct summit will take place on May 30 in Mecca, called by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman.
States will look at how best to respond to the attacks last week.
The United Arab Emirates, a Sunni Muslim ally of Riyadh, has yet to blame Iran for the attack.
However, the UAE foreign ministry said in a statement: “The current critical circumstances entail a unified Arab and Gulf stance toward the besetting challenges and risks.”
READ MORE: Donald Trump warns Iran it will be ‘OFFICIALLY ENDED’
However, the United States was quick to point blame at Iran with two sources saying Washington believed Tehran had encouraged Houthi or Iraq-based Shi’ite militias to carry out the attacks.
The US Navy’s Fifth Fleet said in its statement about increased maritime patrols that GCC countries were “specifically increasing communication and coordination with each other in support of regional naval cooperation and maritime security operations in the Arabian Gulf,” with navies and coast guards working with the US Navy.
In a sign of the heightened tension, Exxon Mobil evacuated foreign staff from an oilfield in neighbouring Iraq.
Bahrain on Saturday warned its citizens against travel to Iraq and Iran and asked those already there to return.
The drone strike on oil pumping stations, which Riyadh said did not disrupt output or exports, was claimed by the Houthis, who have been battling a Saudi-led military coalition in a war in Yemen since 2015.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has dismissed the possibility of war erupting.
READ MORE: Saudi Arabia lashes out at Iran over terror attacks
He said Tehran did not want conflict and no country had the “illusion it can confront Iran”.
This stance was echoed by the head of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards on Sunday.