UN: Missiles Used to Attack Aramco Were of Iranian Origin

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Reuters file photo
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Reuters file photo
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UN: Missiles Used to Attack Aramco Were of Iranian Origin

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Reuters file photo
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Reuters file photo

Cruise missiles used in several attacks on Aramco's oil facilities and an international airport in Saudi Arabia last year were of "Iranian origin," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council in a report seen by Reuters on Thursday.

Guterres also said several items in US seizures of weapons and related materiel in November 2019 and February 2020 were "of Iranian origin."

Some have design characteristics similar to those also produced by a commercial entity in Iran, or bear Farsi markings, Guterres said, and some were delivered to the country between February 2016 and April 2018.

He said that "these items may have been transferred in a manner inconsistent" with a 2015 Security Council resolution that enshrines Tehran's deal with world powers to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.

Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the UN report.

Washington is pushing the 15-member council to extend an arms embargo on Iran that is due to expire in October under the nuclear deal. Council veto-powers Russia and China have already signaled their opposition to the move.

Guterres reports twice a year to the Security Council on the implementation of an arms embargo on Iran and other restrictions that remained in place after the deal.

The UN chief said the United Nations examined debris of weapons used in attacks on a Saudi oil facility in Afif in May, on the Abha international airport in June and August and on the Saudi Aramco oil facilities in Khurais and Abqaiq in September.

"The Secretariat assesses that the cruise missiles and/or parts thereof used in the four attacks are of Iranian origin," Guterres wrote.

The UN secretary-general also said that drones used in the May and September attacks were "of Iranian origin."

He also said the United Nations had observed that some items in the two US seizures "were identical or similar" to those found in the debris of the cruise missiles and the drones used in the 2019 attacks on Saudi Arabia.

The Security Council is due to discuss Guterres' report later this month.

US Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft has said she will circulate a draft resolution to extend the arms embargo on Iran soon. If Washington is unsuccessful, it has threatened to trigger a return of all UN sanctions on Iran under the nuclear deal, even though it quit the accord in 2018.

Iran has breached parts of the nuclear deal in response to the US withdrawal and Washington's reimposition of sanctions.

"I call upon all Member States to avoid provocative rhetoric and actions that may have a negative impact on regional stability," Guterres wrote in the 14-page report.



Japan FM Says He Will Attend Trump Inauguration Ceremony

Japan's Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya arrives at Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's official residence in Tokyo, Japan October 1, 2024. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
Japan's Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya arrives at Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's official residence in Tokyo, Japan October 1, 2024. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
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Japan FM Says He Will Attend Trump Inauguration Ceremony

Japan's Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya arrives at Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's official residence in Tokyo, Japan October 1, 2024. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
Japan's Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya arrives at Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's official residence in Tokyo, Japan October 1, 2024. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said on Sunday he planned to attend Donald Trump's inauguration as US president on Jan. 20, as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's government hopes to maintain close ties with its security ally.

"We aim to build a relationship of trust with the Trump administration securely," Iwaya told a talk show on public broadcaster NHK. He said he was seeking a meeting with Senator Marco Rubio, Trump's pick to be secretary of state.

India and Australia also announced that their foreign ministers would attend the swearing-in as Trump returns to the White House, Reuters reported.

It will be Iwaya's first visit to the United States since he became foreign minister in October. Japan, a longtime US ally that enjoyed good relations with Trump during his first administration, is keen to get off to a good start in his second.

Ishiba is looking into visiting the United States as early as in the first half of February for his first summit with Trump, Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Sunday.

Ishiba unsuccessfully sought a meeting in November, shortly after Trump beat Joe Biden in a presidential comeback, sources told Reuters at the time.

Iwaya said he aimed to meet with other senior officials from the incoming administration to lay the groundwork for an Ishiba visit.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will attend the inauguration at the invitation of the Trump team and meet with members of his incoming administration, his ministry said in a statement.

Penny Wong, foreign minister of fellow US Pacific ally Australia, said on Sunday she would attend Trump's inauguration, calling it "an important opportunity to discuss how we can advance the benefits of our strong economic and security partnership and expand our cooperation".

She has said Australia's centre-left Labor government was confident of its alliance with the United States, its biggest security partner, under the incoming Republican administration.