Iran ‘ready for war’ over oil attack claims

AN IRANIAN military leader has warned that his country is prepared for a ‘full-fledged’ war with the US.

It comes as tensions between Tehran and Washington escalated after a weekend drone attack halted production of half of Saudi Arabia’s oil supplies.

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo blamed Iran for the strike — an allegation dismissed as ‘maximum lies’ by Iran.

Now a Revolutionary Guard commander has said Iran could attack US bases across the Middle East with ballistic missiles.

‘Our region is like a powder keg,’ warned Brig Gen Amir Ali Hajizadeh. ‘When forces come into contact with one another, a conflict could happen because of a misunderstanding.’ He was also quoted as saying that Iran is ‘ready for war’.

The strikes on the Saudi Aramco processing facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais were claimed by Yemen’s Houthi-backed rebels. But Pompeo alleged on Twitter that Iran was behind what he called an ‘unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply’. Iran’s foreign ministry rejected his claims as ‘blind and futile’.

Saudi’s energy minister said the attacks had temporarily reduced oil production by 5.7million barrels a day — half the kingdom’s output.