Iran's Zarif Threatens 'All Out War' If Military Strike on Iran

Iran warned President Donald Trump on Thursday against being dragged into all-out war in the Middle East following an attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities which Washington and Riyadh blame on Tehran.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has described the weekend strike that initially halved Saudi oil output as an act of war and has been discussing possible retaliation with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies.

Trump on Wednesday struck a cautious note, saying there were many options short of war with Iran, which denies involvement in the Sept. 14 strikes. He ordered more sanctions on Tehran.

Iran's foreign minister told CNN the Islamic Republic "won't blink" if it has to defend itself against any U.S. or Saudi military strike, which he said would lead to "all-out war."

Mohammed Javad Zarif earlier accused Pompeo of being part of a so-called "B-team," which Tehran says includes Saudi Arabia's crown prince and is trying to dupe Trump into opting for war.

Pompeo said on Wednesday that the attack was "of a scale we've just not seen before."

"The Saudis were the nation that were attacked. It was on their soil. It was an act of war against them directly," he told reporters before meeting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Riyadh, which described the assault as a "test of global will," on Wednesday displayed the remnants of 25 Iranian drones and missiles it said were used in the strike as undeniable evidence of Iranian aggression.

The Saudi ambassador to Berlin said "everything is on the table," telling Deutschlandfunk radio that options need to be discussed carefully.

The United Arab Emirates on Thursday followed its main Arab ally Saudi Arabia in announcing it was joining a global maritime security coalition that Washington has been trying to build since a series of explosions on oil tankers in Gulf waters in recent months that were also blamed on Tehran.