EXCLUSIVE: US probe of Saudi oil attack shows it came from north

DRONE PARTS 'NEARLY IDENTICAL'

In a similar report last week, the United Nations also said it was "unable to independently corroborate" that missiles and drones used in attacks on Saudi oil facilities in September "are of Iranian origin."

The report noted that Yemen’s Houthis “have not shown to be in possession, nor been assessed to be in possession” of the type of drones used in the attacks on the Aramco facilities.

Washington's interim assessment also included pictures of drone components including the engine identified by the United States as "closely resembling" or "nearly identical" to those that observed on other Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles.

It also provided pictures of a compass circuit board that was recovered from the attack with a marking that is likely indicating a potential manufacturing date written in the Persian calendar year, the report assessed.

The name of a company believed to be associated with Iran, SADRA, was also identified on a wiring harness label from the Sept. 14 wreckage, the report said.

U.S. President Donald Trump last year withdrew from a 2015 nuclear deal between world powers and Iran and snapped back sanctions on Tehran with the aim of choking Iranian crude sales, the Islamic Republic's main source of revenues.

As part of its 'maximum pressure' campaign, Washington has also sanctioned dozens of Iranian entities, companies and individuals to cut Tehran's revenue, a move some analysts have suggested may have forced Iran to act more aggressively.