An Iranian official responded Sunday after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pointed at the nation’s government in Tehran following Saturday’s drone attacks on Saudi Arabia oil facilities.
“The Americans adopted the ‘maximum pressure’ policy against Iran, which, due to its failure, is leaning towards ‘maximum lies’,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said, according to the Associated Press.
On Saturday, Pompeo charged that Iran’s government in Tehran ordered “nearly 100 attacks” on a Saudi refinery and oilfield, further alleging that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif pretending “to engage in diplomacy.”
On Sunday, Mousavi dismissed Pompeo’s remarks as “blind and futile comments.”
Saturday’s attacks, for which Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed responsibility, resulted in “the temporary suspension of production operations” at the Abqaiq processing facility and the Khurais oil field, Riyadh said. They followed weeks of similar drone assaults on the kingdom's oil infrastructure, but none of the earlier strikes appeared to have caused the same amount of damage.
The attacks led to the interruption of an estimated 5.7 million barrels in crude supplies, authorities said, while pledging the kingdom's stockpiles would make up the difference. That size of shutdown hasn't occurred since Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, The Wall Street Journal reported.
But Saudi officials told the Journal that normal levels of oil production would resume by Monday.
The rebels hold Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and other parts of the Arab world's poorest country. Since 2015, a Saudi-led coalition has fought to reinstate the internationally recognized Yemeni government.
What remained to be seen were the attacks’ effect on world energy prices. With markets closed Sunday, the answer wouldn’t be known for another 24 hours.
But one undeniable impact was an increase in Middle East tensions amid escalating U.S.-Iran hostilities as the Obama-era nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers continues to unravel.
Meanwhile, President Trump on Saturday called Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to offer his support for the kingdom's defense, the White House said. The crown prince assured Trump that Saudi Arabia was "willing and able to confront and deal with this terrorist aggression," according to a news release from the Saudi Embassy in Washington.
Fox News’ Sam Dorman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
When Hong Kong’s ongoing mass demonstrations began on June 9, the streets were flooded by a peaceful sea of protesters, the majority of whom were dressed in white.
But in the 15 weeks since that day, the movement has transformed into something altogether bigger -- and more violent.
It's no longer about the withdrawal of an extradition bill, protesters are now calling for the "Liberation of Hong Kong."
Although today's demonstration started peacefully, it quickly turned into an aggressive face-off between police and protesters.
Earlier, black-clad protesters threw objects and smashed glass, tore bricks from the pavement and tossed petrol bombs. Riot police responded by firing water cannons with blue water and tear gas.
Now, the streets are left in disarray. Harcourt Road -- the street that leads to the city's Legislative Council -- is dyed blue and is marred with graffiti. There’s the faint smell of tear gas in the air.
With both protesters and police moving east, it seems likely that another face-off is on the cards.
Boris Johnson did not believe in Brexit during the referendum campaign and backed Leave "because it would help his political career", says David Cameron.
The pair were "ambassadors for the expert-trashing, truth-twisting age of populism", Mr Cameron writes.
And he also accuses Mr Gove of being disloyal to himself and Mr Johnson.
Of his former colleague, Mr Cameron writes: "One quality shone through: disloyalty. Disloyalty to me - and, later, disloyalty to Boris."
The latest revelations come after another extract published on Saturday accused the pair of behaving "appallingly" during the 2016 referendum campaign.
Mr Cameron called the poll after promising it in the Conservative Party's election manifesto.
He campaigned for Remain, but lost the vote by 52% to 48%, and resigned as prime minister shortly after.
Mr Cameron writes that when deciding whether to back Leave or Remain in the campaign, Mr Johnson was concerned what the "best outcome" would be for him.
"Whichever senior Tory politician took the lead on the Brexit side - so loaded with images of patriotism, independence and romance - would become the darling of the party," he says.
"He [Mr Johnson] didn't want to risk allowing someone else with a high profile - Michael Gove in particular - to win that crown."
The former Tory leader adds: "The conclusion I am left with is that he [Boris Johnson] risked an outcome he didn't believe in because it would help his political career."
He also says during the Leave campaign Mr Johnson, who has repeatedly said the UK must exit the EU on 31 October, privately raised the possibility of holding another referendum after fresh negotiations with the EU.
He criticises Mr Johnson's use of the Vote Leave campaign bus emblazoned by the much-criticised claim that leaving would mean £350m a week extra for the NHS.
"Boris rode the bus round the country, he left the truth at home," writes the former prime minister.
And of Mr Gove - a cabinet minister both now and then - he said: "I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
"Gove, the liberal-minded, carefully-considered Conservative intellectual, had become a foam-flecked Faragist warning that the entire Turkish population was about to come to Britain."
However, it was the behaviour of his then employment minister and current Home Secretary Priti Patel that "shocked" him the most, he says.
"She used every announcement, interview and speech to hammer the government on immigration, even though she was part of that government," he writes.
"I was stuck though: unable to fire her, because that would make her a Brexit martyr."
The prime minister, Mr Gove and Ms Patel are yet to respond to the criticisms of them contained in Mr Cameron's book.
In an interview with the Times published on Saturday, Mr Cameron said he was "hugely depressed" about the 2016 referendum result and he knew "some people will never forgive me".
But he defended his decision to call the poll, arguing the issue of the EU "needed to be addressed".
The prime minister is due to meet European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker in Luxembourg this week as negotiations aimed at securing a deal continue.
In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, Mr Johnson said he was still hopeful a new deal with the EU could be reached in time for the crucial EU summit on 17 October.
It would take a lot of work, he said, adding: "I think that we will get there."
He said there was a "real sign of movement" in Berlin, Paris and "most interestingly" in Dublin.
However, if he cannot negotiate a deal, the UK would break out of its "manacles" like cartoon character The Incredible Hulk on Halloween, he said.
"Hulk always escaped, no matter how tightly bound in he seemed to be - and that is the case for this country," he said. "We will come out on 31 October and we will get it done."
In the interview, Mr Johnson also repeated his opposition to an election pact with Nigel Farage's Brexit Party, saying the Conservative party was a "great" and "old" party that did not form electoral pacts with other parties.
Earlier this month, Mr Johnson expelled 21 MPs from the party after they rebelled against him in a bid to prevent a no-deal Brexit.
Asked if any would be allowed to stand as a Conservative at the next election, he did not rule it out but urged people not to underestimate the gravity of what they had done.
"They were effectively handing the initiative to our opponents," he said. "I just want people to understand why it was necessary to be so strict."
David Cameron as PM
Mr Cameron became the Conservative Party leader in 2005. Five years later he was voted into Downing Street as the UK's youngest prime minister in almost 200 years - aged 43.
His six-year tenure - firstly in coalition with the Liberal Democrats and latterly with a majority government - was dominated by his desire to reduce the deficit, and the introduction of austerity measures with his Chancellor George Osborne.
But when he pledged in his party's 2015 manifesto to hold a referendum on the UK's membership of the EU, the focus shifted.
Mr Cameron backed Remain during the 2016 campaign and, on the morning of the result after discovering he had lost, he announced he would be stepping down, saying: "I do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination."
The former PM had remained silent until this weekend about both of his successors at the helm of the Tory Party - Theresa May and Boris Johnson.
But his allegedly fractious relationship with Mr Johnson has been well documented since their days together at Oxford University - most notably as members of the infamous Bullingdon Club.
There's more trouble for the hurricane-ravaged Bahamas. Tropical Storm Humberto is threatening Grand Bahama Island, creating new worries for more than 2,000 people living in shelters and those trying to rebuild their homes after Hurricane Dorian.
As of 11 a.m. ET, the storm was about 30 miles east-northeast of Great Abaco Island and about 145 miles east of Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, the National Hurricane Center said Saturday. Tropical Storm Humberto had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and was nearly stationary for several hours.
Humberto is forecast to move away from the northwestern Bahamas by Saturday evening and become a hurricane by Sunday evening. By then, the storm will be moving away from the U.S.
Trending News
A group organized by retired Navy Seals and the conservation group Sea Shepherd has been loading up supplies to send to remote islands that may be impacted by the approaching storm. When CBS News caught up with them, the group had four tons of essentials — food, water and generators — it had loaded onto a ship.
Residents are doing whatever they can to prepare. With few boats intact, locals are shuttling them to the few dozen people who remain. "I mean, we really don't need another hurricane. As you can see, we don't need another one. But we just have to prepare," Sinetra Higgs told CBS News.
This image shows the trajectory of Tropical Storm Humberto on September 14, 2019.
National Hurricane Center
Hurricane Dorian devastated the northern Bahamas. Entire neighborhoods were flattened, homes shredded, shipping containers and boats hurled inland. Some airports were submerged, while terminals were covered in debris.
Some residents remain frustrated at the government's response, especially with another storm on the way. Many residents said that the only assistance they've gotten came from foreigners — and that they're still living without cell service, power and running water.
The Bahamian government said it's coordinating relief efforts from Nassau. But since most of the field teams come from private foreign aid groups, that's all the residents in hard-hit communities see.
Tropical Depression Nine strengthened into Tropical Storm Humberto near the Bahamas Friday night, the National Hurricane Center said. The Bahamian government issued a tropical storm warning for its northwestern islands — the same area devastated by Hurricane Dorian earlier this month.
As of 11 p.m. ET, the storm was about 130 miles east-southeast of Great Abaco Island and about 225 miles east-southeast of Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, the hurricane center said. Tropical Storm Humberto had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and was moving northwest at 6 mph.
A group organized by retired Navy Seals and the conservation group Sea Shepherd has been loading up supplies to send to remote islands that may be impacted by the approaching storm. When CBS News caught up with them, the group had four tons of essentials — food, water and generators — it had loaded onto a ship.
Trending News
Residents are doing whatever they can to prepare. With few boats intact, locals are shuttling them to the few dozen people who remain. "I mean, we really don't need another hurricane. As you can see, we don't need another one. But we just have to prepare," Sinetra Higgs told CBS News.
This image shows the trajectory of Tropical Storm Humberto on September 13, 2019.
National Hurricane Center
Hurricane Dorian devastated the northern Bahamas. Entire neighborhoods were flattened, homes shredded, shipping containers and boats hurled inland. Some airports were submerged, while terminals were covered in debris.
Some residents remain frustrated at the government's response, especially with another storm on the way. Many residents said that the only assistance they've gotten came from foreigners — and that they're still living without cell service, power and running water.
The Bahamian government said it's coordinating relief efforts from Nassau. But since most of the field teams come from private foreign aid groups, that's all the residents in hard-hit communities see.
