Saudi Arabia wants to avert warin the region but stands ready to respond with "all strength anddetermination" following last week's attacks on Saudi oil assets, a seniorofficial said on Sunday, adding that the ball was now in Iran's court.
Riyadh has accused Tehran ofordering Tuesday's drone strikes on two oil pumping stations in the kingdom,claimed by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group. The attack came two days afterfour vessels, including two Saudi oil tankers, were sabotaged off the coast ofthe United Arab Emirates.
Iran has denied it was behind theattacks which come as Washington and the Islamic Republic spar over sanctionsand the U.S. military presence in the region, raising concerns about apotential U.S.-Iran conflict.
"The kingdom of Saudi Arabiadoes not want a war in the region nor does it seek that," Minister ofState for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir told a news conference.
"It will do what it can toprevent this war and at the same time it reaffirms that in the event the otherside chooses war, the kingdom will respond with all force and determination,and it will defend itself and its interests."
Saudi Arabia's King Salman onSunday invited Gulf and Arab leaders to convene emergency summits in Mecca onMay 30 to discuss implications of the attacks.
"The current criticalcircumstances entail a unified Arab and Gulf stance toward the besettingchallenges and risks," the UAE foreign ministry said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia's Sunni Muslim allythe UAE has not blamed anyone for the tanker operation, pending aninvestigation. No-one has claimed responsibility, but two U.S. governmentsources said last week that U.S. officials believed Iran had encouraged theHouthi group or Iraq-based Shi'ite militias to carry it out.
The Houthis, who are battling aSaudi-led coalition in Yemen, said they carried out the strike on oil pumpingstations in the kingdom, which did not disrupt output or exports in the world'slargest crude exporter.
A Norwegian insurers' report seenby Reuters said Iran's Revolutionary Guards were "highly likely" tohave facilitated the attack on vessels near the UAE's Fujairah emirate, a mainbunkering hub lying just outside the Strait of Hormuz.
