Trump: Iran ‘probably’ responsible for attack on Saudi pipeline, Houthis don’t want US involved in Yemen

US President Donald Trump says Iran was probably responsible for an aerial attack on Saudi Arabia ​that shut down Riyadh’s East-West pipeline, one of the kingdom’s main routes for exporting crude while bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.

“I think they are, probably they are,” Trump tells reporters in Dublin when asked if Iran was responsible for the attack on the vital oil conduit.

The US president adds that he spoke with his “good friend,” Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The US president also claims Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have called his administration and indicated they did not want the United States to become directly involved in the conflict there.

The Houthis have imposed a blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea, and this week wrested control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait from Yemen’s Saudi-backed government.

“They would much prefer not having us involved, and they’re letting most ships go through. There’s just one country that they’re not too happy with, and we’ll get that straightened out,” Trump says.

He also repeats his claim that the war with Iran will end after the US midterm elections in November and that “when that happens, oil prices will come tumbling down.”

Asked when the war will end, Trump says: “I think very soon. I think it’ll be probably right after the midterms. They’re trying to hold out as long as they can to complicate the election. But I think people are wise to it,” he says, adding that “Iran cannot have nuclear weapons.”