Pompeo departs for Jeddah to discuss drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities

Amid rising tensions in the Gulf, the US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on Wednesday embarked on a two-state visit to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Tensions have been high in the region especially after two Saudi Aramco oil facilities were attacked by drones on Saturday morning. The incident had knocked off half of the Kingdom's oil production. Yemen's Houthi rebels have since claimed responsibility for the attacks.

"Secretary Michael Pompeo will travel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (from) September 17 to 19," the US State Department announced on Tuesday.

Pompeo will meet the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) on Wednesday to discuss the recent attacks on the oil facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais; and also to coordinate efforts to counter Iran on the strategic front.

After meeting MBS, he is scheduled to visit Abu Dhabi to meet UAE Prince Mohammed bin Zayed to discuss regional and bilateral issues.

Earlier on Sunday, Pompeo had accused Iran of the drone attacks on the Saudi oil facilities.

"Tehran is behind nearly 100 attacks on Saudi Arabia while Rouhani and Zarif pretend to engage in diplomacy. Amid all the calls for de-escalation, Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world's energy supply. There is no evidence the attacks came from Yemen," wrote Pompeo in a tweet.

Iran has since dismissed all allegations against it and rejected Pompeo's statements which hold Tehran responsible for the attacks.