Publish Date: 24 September 2019 - 19:00

TEHRAN, Sep. 24 (MNA) – Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi rapped the baseless accusations of E3 – France, Britain and Germany – in their recent statement which blames Iran for the Aramco attacks, saying “the statement proved that the European side is not capable of resisting against the US’ bullying activities.”

He said, "the time of bullying others at international levels is passed and by bending towards such pressures, the Europeans are depriving themselves from playing a significant role at international arena and markets."

“The mere way for Europeans to cooperate with Iran is remaining independent,” Mousavi said.

In a joint statement earlier on Tuesday, the leaders of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom strongly condemned the September 14 attacks on oil facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais, and pinned the blame on Tehran.

"It is clear to us that Iran bears responsibility for this attack. There is no other plausible explanation," the statement read.

"We support ongoing investigations to establish further details," it added.

A few hours before releasing the statement, Macron had warned that "one must be very careful in attributing responsibility" for the Aramco attacks.

"There are clusters of clues, but this bombardment is a new military event that changes the region's ecosystem," he said, stressing that caution was needed in apportioning blame for the attack.

The statement came after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson leveled the same accusations against Iran while speaking to reporters on the plane while flying to New York to attend the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Johnson said his country believes Iran was behind the attacks on the Saudi oil facilities and added that London would work with the United States and European allies to de-escalate tensions in the Persian Gulf.

MNA/4727754