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
TT

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.



Sweden to Contribute Up to 3 Warships to Reinforced NATO Presence in the Baltic

Sweden Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson speaks to the Associated Press during an interview at the Estonian Knighthood House in Tallinn, Estonia, on Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Sweden Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson speaks to the Associated Press during an interview at the Estonian Knighthood House in Tallinn, Estonia, on Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
TT

Sweden to Contribute Up to 3 Warships to Reinforced NATO Presence in the Baltic

Sweden Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson speaks to the Associated Press during an interview at the Estonian Knighthood House in Tallinn, Estonia, on Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Sweden Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson speaks to the Associated Press during an interview at the Estonian Knighthood House in Tallinn, Estonia, on Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Sweden will contribute up to three warships to a NATO effort to increase the alliance's presence in the Baltic Sea as it tries to guard against sabotage of underwater infrastructure, the government said Sunday.

The Swedish military also will contribute an ASC 890 surveillance aircraft, the government said in a statement. And the country's coast guard will contribute four ships to help monitor the Baltic, with a further seven vessels on standby.

Sweden became the Western military alliance’s 32nd member in March. It followed neighboring Finland into NATO after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The government said this will be the first time that Sweden as a NATO ally contributes armed forces to the alliance's defense and deterrence, The AP reported.

The decision comes as a string of incidents in the Baltic has heightened concerns about possible Russian activities in the region.

The undersea cables and pipelines that crisscross the sea link Nordic, Baltic and central European countries, promote trade, energy security and, in some cases, reduce dependence on Russian energy resources.

Ten Baltic Sea cables have been damaged since 2023, affecting Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Germany and Lithuania. At least two incidents involved ships later accused of dragging their anchors.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said at an annual security conference Sunday that Sweden is not at war, but there is also no peace, Swedish news agency TT reported.