Saudi Islam minister orders preachers to rail against 'Iran' oil attacks during Friday sermons

The Saudi minister of Islamic affairs issued a directive to all Saudi preachers on Tuesday, telling them to address the attacks on oil processing plants in next week's Friday sermon. 

According to Saudi Press Agency, Abdullatif bin Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh's directive emphasised certain themes, such as the blessing of security and stability, the need to rally around wise leadership and calling on God to protect Saudi Arabia.

The directive was issued within the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance framework, the SPA report read, which aims to raise "the awareness of society about the dangers facing our country at home and abroad".

Details of the Saturday strikes on Abqaiq - the world's largest oil processing facility - and the Khurais oil field in eastern Saudi Arabia remained unclear, but left crude oil output by the world's top exporter slashed in half.

The US readied its response Monday to the "unprecedented" attack on Saudi oil facilities as President Donald Trump said Iran was likely to blame, fanning new fears of conflict in the Gulf region.

Trump said he was ready to help key ally Saudi Arabia after the weekend drone attacks but would await a "definitive" determination on who was responsible.

The Iran-supported Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attack, which likely involved, according to reports, both drones and cruise missiles that struck their targets with surprising accuracy. 

In Riyadh, officials said the attack involved "Iranian weapons", but likewise fell short of directly accusing their regional arch-rival.

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"The kingdom condemns this egregious crime, which threatens international peace and security, and affirms that the primary target of this attack are global energy supplies, as this attack is in line with the previous attacks against Saudi Aramco pumping stations using Iranian weapons," the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement.

At a press conference in Ankara, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the attacks were an act of self-defence by the Houthis due to the Saudi-led coalition's air campaign in Yemen, which erupted in 2015. 

Agencies contributed to this report.