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CAIRO/TEHRAN, Sept. 16-- The recent attacks on Saudi Arabia's Aramco oil facilities have escalated the tensions in the Gulf, as Iran and the United States trade barbs and threats of military retaliation. The attacks, which have halved the Saudi oil output, sent shock waves through the global oil market by triggering a price hike and fueling new fears about the declining global economy already clouded by the uncertainties caused by the trade war ignited by the irresponsible policies of the United States. There are calls for restraint and return to talks by the concerned parties in this volatile region as any miscalculation could spark an armed conflict whose consequences on the Middle East and the whole world could be disastrous. NEGATIVE IMPACT ON GLOBAL OIL SUPPLY Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday that drone attacks caused fires at two Aramco oil facilities, including the Abqaiq processing plant and Khurais oil field, in the east of the Kingdom, the top oil exporter in the world. The explosions knocked out crude oil supplies estimated at 5.7 million barrels per day, or about 50 percent of the company's production, which accounts for nearly 6 percent of daily global consumption of crude oil. News about the attacks on Aramco, the state-run Saudi oil giant, sent global oil price hiking by as high as 18 percent on Sunday, before falling back to a 12 percent rise. On Monday morning, U.S. oil futures rose to 60 U.S. dollars a barrel, while the futures of Brent crude climbed to 66 dollars per barrel, both up by 12 percent. | 
