The Pentagon is presenting a 'broad range' of military options to Donald Trump in response to 'Iranian attack' on Saudi oil plants - including a list of air strike targets within the Islamic Republic
- President is to be provided a list of strategic targets at the White House today
- Trump will also be warned of the grave ramifications of such strikes on Iran
- Tehran has warned Washington even limited strikes would summon 'all-out war'
- Today Saudi workers were seen repairing the scorched remains of oil facilities
The Pentagon will present a broad range of military options to Donald Trump today as he weighs his response to what officials say was an Iranian attack on Saudi oil sites.
The President is to be furnished with a list of air strike targets within the Islamic Republic at Friday's White House meeting and will also be warned of the grave consequences.
Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif cautioned yesterday that US notions of 'limited strikes' were incomprehensible and the only response would be 'all-out war.'
The national security meeting is likely to be the first opportunity for a decision on how the US should respond to the attack on a key Middle East ally.
Scroll down for video.
Construction workers surround the scorched Saudi Aramco oil facility in Khurais. Fahad Abdulkarim, Aramco's general manager for the southern area oil operation, said: 'We are working 24/7'
The blackened lattice of pipes within the oil facility after unprecedented drone strikes on Saudi Arabia last week
Any decision may depend on what kind of evidence the US and Saudi investigators are able to provide proving that the cruise missile and drone strike was launched by Iran, as a number of officials, including secretary of state Mike Pompeo, have claimed.
The President (pictured at a campaign rally this week in Rio Rancho) is to be furnished with a list of air strike targets within the Islamic Republic at a meeting at the White House and will also be warned of the grave consequences.
Iran has denied involvement and warned the US that any attack will spark an 'all-out war' with immediate retaliation.
Mr Pompeo and vice president Mike Pence have condemned the attack on Saudi oil facilities as 'an act of war'. Mr Pence said the president will 'review the facts, and he'll make a decision about next steps', adding: 'The American people can be confident that the United States of America is going to defend our interest in the region, and we're going to stand with our allies.'
The US response could involve military, political and economic actions, and the military options could range from no action at all to air strikes or less visible moves such as cyberattacks.
One likely move would be for the US to provide additional military support to help Saudi Arabia defend itself from attacks from the north, since most of its defences have focused on threats from Houthis in Yemen to the south.
General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, emphasised on Monday that the question of whether the US responds is a 'political judgment' and not for the military.
'It is my job to provide military options to the president should he decide to respond with military force,' Gen Dunford said.
Workers fix an oil pipeline damaged in the attacks, which US officials say came from Iran
Men are seen around the oil facility in Khurais on Friday after it was attacked last Saturday
Shrapnel holes caused by a missile are inspected by members of the media at Armaco's Khurais oil field today
The pipes and external structures on one of the oil facility's installations are scorched and bent after last week's attack
Workers are seen at the damaged site of Saudi Aramco oil facility in Khurais on Friday
A forensic team from US Central Command is poring over evidence from cruise missile and drone debris, but the Pentagon said the assessment is not finished.
Officials are trying to determine if they can get navigational information from the debris that could provide hard evidence that the strikes came from Iran.
Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said on Thursday that the US has a high level of confidence that officials will be able to accurately determine who launched the attacks last weekend.
Today construction workers were seen going flat out to repair oil facilities at Khurais - one of two oil sites belonging to Saudi Aramco - which were attacked around a week ago
Saudi says a total of 25 drones and cruise missiles were launched against its oil facilities, all of which struck their targets with the exception of four missiles which fell short
Today construction workers were seen going flat out to repair oil facilities at Khurais - one of two oil sites belonging to Saudi Aramco - which were attacked last Saturday.
Aramco was shipping equipment from the United States and Europe to rebuild the damaged facilities, Fahad Abdulkarim, Aramco's general manager for the southern area oil operation, told reporters on a tour organised by the state company.
'We are working 24/7,' Abdulkarim said.
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