Until there is much more clarity on how a pinpoint attack took out half of Saudi Arabia’s oil production, speculation will swirl about the methods its foes used to strike so deep into the kingdom.
With opinion varying on the weapons used on Saturday to damage a major refinery and an oilfield in the eastern heartland, one of the few things on which specialists and officials agree is that Iranian weapons were probably used in the attack, whether they were drones or missiles, launched from Yemen, Iraq or even Iran.
In Tehran, officials denied Washington’s accusations that Iran was responsible.
They warned the White House that, in case of retaliation, US bases and aircraft carriers in the region are within the 2,000-kilometre range of Iranian missiles.
Washington had disputed a Houthi announcement that the group carried out the attack using 10 drones, saying there was no evidence.
US officials say the attack was more likely to have been carried out by Tehran's proxies in Iraq or launched from Iran.
The Arab Coalition said Iranian weapons were used, and not from Houthi-held territory.
It said the location of the launch was unknown and that an investigation was continuing.
The office of Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said yesterday that Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, indicated to him in a call that the attack had not been launched from Iraq.
Washington made no immediate comment.
Fayez Al Doueri, a prominent Jordanian military commentator, said that in the absence of evidence, the Houthi claim could not be discounted.
“At this stage, the issue is not whether it was Hezbollah, militias in Basra or the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps,” Mr Al Doueri, a retired general, told The National from Amman.
“What is crucial, militarily, is to protect the Saudi airspace.”
Mr Al Doueri said the latest attack was the third major breach in the past few months that had damaged Saudi oil infrastructure on the upstream and downstream sides.
Saudi Arabia has one of the largest military budgets in the world, per capita and in absolute numbers.
Mr Al Doueri said the kingdom had the technical means to secure its strategic sites.
The attack cut off five per cent of the world’s oil supplies and drove the price of the benchmark Brent crude up 20 per cent before it slipped to 10 per cent, to $66.3 a barrel, by afternoon trading in London.
Fabian Hinz, a researcher at the James Martin Centre for Nonproliferation Studies in California, suggested that missiles developed by Tehran especially for use by its proxies with “no exact Iranian equivalent” may have been involved in the attack.
In an article published this week in the Arms Control Wonk blog, Mr Hinz asked: “Is Iran secretly designing, testing and producing missile systems for exclusive use by its proxies?”
If the answer is yes, it will make dealing with the attack more politically and diplomatically complex, with US President Donald Trump saying said he is waiting to hear from Riyadh after clear results from investigations are reached.
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule
Thursday December 27
Men's quarter-finals
Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm
Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm
Women's exhibition
Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm
Friday December 28
5th place play-off 3pm
Men's semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm
Saturday December 29
3rd place play-off 5pm
Men's final 7pm
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: CVT auto
Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km
On sale: now
Price: from Dh195,000
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.