Republican Senator calls for US attacks on Iranian oil facilities

"It is now time for the US to put on the table an attack on Iranian oil refineries if they continue their provocations or increase nuclear enrichment," Graham wrote on Twitter.

In the early hours of Saturday, two Saudi Aramco plants, in Abqaiq and Khurais, were attacked, leading to fires and production suspension of 5.7 million barrels of crude oil per day, according to the oil giant.

The Houthi rebel movement in Yemen has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Graham claimed that Iran was the major force behind the recent Houthi activity.

"Iranian supported Houthi rebels who attacked Saudi oil refineries is yet another example of how Iran is wreaking havoc in the Middle East," the Republican senator wrote on Twitter, adding in another post that "Iran will not stop their misbehavior until the consequences become more real, like attacking their refineries, which will break the regime’s back."

The Houthi rebel movement has been targeted by airstrikes carried out by a Saudi-led coalition since 2015.

The coalition intervened in Yemen after the Houthi rebels removed the government of President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi from the capital Sanaa in 2014.

The United States pulled out of the 2015 international agreement intended to curb Iran’s nuclear activity in 2018 and has re-introduced sanctions against Tehran.

Image: Wikimedia Commons