Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying released a statement on September 16 that it was irresponsible to blame anyone for an attack on Saudi Arabia's oil refineries without having any conclusive facts or information. This comes after the US blamed Iran. Yemen's Iran-led Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the attack on Saturday but the US State Secretary Mike Pompeo said there was no evidence of the attack from Yemen. US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that there is a reason to believe that we know the culprit.

READ: Houthi Rebels Claim Drone Attack On Saudi Aramco Oil Refineries

China: Will oppose any moves that will escalate tensions 

A senior US official told a news source that the evidence from the attack indicated Iran was behind it which hit the world's biggest oil processing unit which was later denied by Iran. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying appealed for calm and restrain. Hua told a daily news briefing that blaming someone without conclusive facts will not result in anything. China said it will oppose any moves that will escalate tensions and intensify conflicts. She urged the relevant parties to avoid taking any actions that bring about an escalation in regional tensions. She said all sides should prevent themselves and can together safeguard the peace and stability of the Middle East. China has friendly relations with both Iran and Saudi Arabia and aims to maintain its relationship in the long run with both the nations. Saudi Arabia is China's major oil supplier to date. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman came to China earlier this year, and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman visited Beijing in 2017. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iranian Foreign Minister met the Chinese government’s top diplomat,  State Councillor Wang Yi, in Beijing the previous month.

READ: Drone Attacks Strike Major Saudi Aramco Facility, Oilfield

Background of the attacks

Yemen's Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for drone attacks on two Saudi Aramco oil refineries in Saudi Arabia on September 14. A regional news agency reported that the Houthi rebels deployed 10 drones against the sites in Abqaiq and Khurais. The attacks took place early on Saturday and resulted in a massive fire which was later extinguished by the Saudi authorities. It is the world's largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks in Buqyaq and the Khurais oil field, though Yemen's Houthi rebels previously launched drone assaults deep inside of the kingdom. The source of the attack was not identified by the authorities and said the investigations were going on. They did not mention if there were any casualties or whether operations at the two facilities had been affected. Some online videos displayed smoke rising up from the factory and gunfires could be heard in the background.

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