An attack on Iran's oil refineries following strikes on two Saudi Arabian facilities would be "ill-advised" at this point, but should remain an option, Robert Jordan, the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia under former President George W. Bush, said Monday.
"What we need to do now is marshal our allies," Jordan told Fox Business' "Mornings with Maria." "I'm disappointed that only the British have so far condemned these attacks. I'd like to see a broader response to this from our allies."
Jordan added he thinks President Donald Trump is right to continue his program of maximum pressure against Iran, as Iranians are "feeling the brunt of the economic losses that they're incurring."
The pressure creates opportunities for the United States to stay the course while making sure Saudi Arabia understands "we've got their back," but at the same time, Saudi Arabia must find a way to reassure the world it can defend itself against attacks like the ones that took place during the weekend, said the former ambassador.
Meanwhile, Jordan said he does not agree in whole with Trump's contention the U.S. does not need oil from the Middle East.
"I think he's got a point in many ways," he said. "I wouldn't say we don't need Middle Eastern oil. We import perhaps about 10% of our oil needs from Saudi Arabia because of the particular kind of crude oil that our refineries need to that extent."
But to make a larger point, Jordan said, the U.S. is "quite sufficient," as it has strategic petroleum reserves of more than 700 million barrels.
Jordan added he does not think the Saudis are well-equipped to respond to the attacks.
"Their economy is solely based on oil exports right now, so they've got to find a way to defend against these attacks . . . they have a serious defense issue here that I think we need to help them with," Jordan said.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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