Iran tries to turn Saudi Arabia against Trump with scathing letter after Saudi oil attack

Iran President Hassan Rouhani has reached out to his counterparts in Riyadh as he looks to challenge Trump’s strong relationship with Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman. Tehran spokesman Ali Rabiei confirmed at a press conference on Monday that Rouhani has sent letters to the Saudi Crown Prince and Bahrain’s Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. Tehran has not had formal relations with either country since 2016, but has appeared open to talks after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan visited both states last month to try and mend relations.

Rabiei said: “The basis of the letters has been regional peace and stability…We believe that multiple bilaterals could be shaped in the region, and the US pressures should not take the neighbors away from each other.”

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi also revealed on Saturday that Rouhani sent separate addresses to the Gulf Cooperation Council members and Iraq.

These correspondences were said to be part of the president’s efforts to build a “Coalition for Hope”, but appears to be a move to regain control of the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s busiest oil checkpoint and a historical location for US-Iran disputes.

Saudi Arabia has important allies in the US, epitomised by Aramco (formerly Arabian-American Oil Company).

It is Riyadh’s largest asset and also a key oil source for Washington.

However, on September 14, two explosive drone strikes were launched and decimated two Aramco oil plants in Saudi Arabia – one in Abqaiq and one in Khurais.

The strikes immediately halved Saudi oil output and also provoked a momentary but major spike in prices on the world’s markets.

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Having been valued at a staggering £1.5trillion before the attacks, the Crown Prince is set to recoup £1.1trillion, meaning around £500billion has been knocked off its value.

Iran’s relationship with the US is equally bleak after the abandonment of the 2015 nuclear deal last year, when US President Donald Trump scrapped US agreement citing Iranian violations as his reasoning.

Rouhani said on Tuesday that his country will resume its injecting of uranium into its centrifuges that had previously been empty, a further step away from the deal as Trump’s influence in the Middle East wanes.

source: express.co.uk