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Saudi Arabia said it rejected completely "the negative, false and unacceptable" assessment of the U.S. intelligence report released on Friday that found Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had approved the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler approved an operation to capture or kill the Washington Post columnist in 2018, the U.S. report said, as the United States sanctioned some of those involved but not the crown prince himself. "The government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia completely rejects the .... assessment in the report pertaining to the Kingdom’s leadership, and notes that the report contained inaccurate information and conclusions," the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA. "The crime was committed by a group of individuals that have transgressed all pertinent regulations... and the kingdom's leadership took the necessary steps to ensure that such a tragedy never takes place again," the foreign … [Read more...] about Saudi Arabia rejects U.S. intelligence report on Khashoggi’s killing

The Biden administration’s decision to end U.S. support for Saudi Arabia’s Yemen war is a signal to Riyadh that the Trump-era open support it had enjoyed is a matter of the past. The U.S. offered support to Saudi Arabia’s campaign against the Houthi rebels in Yemen when Barack Obama was the President. Donald Trump continued that policy, overlooking the disastrous effects of the war that has turned Yemen, one of the poorest Arab countries, into a humanitarian catastrophe. In its last hours, the Trump State Department designated the Houthis, who are backed by Iran, as a terrorist organisation. Rights groups have condemned the move, saying that the designation would complicate aid efforts as the Houthis control a sizeable part of Yemen, including the capital. Mr. Biden has now taken a different line, initiating steps to remove the Houthis from the terror list , among other actions. This is part of his larger attempts to rewrite the U.S.’s West Asia policy which, under Mr. Trump, was … [Read more...] about Endless war: On why Saudi Arabia should end its Yemen blockade

VIENNA: The UN nuclear watchdog is in wide-ranging talks with Saudi Arabia about tougher supervision of the kingdom's nuclear activities, the agency said on Monday (Sep 14), part of a wider effort to eliminate a "weakness" in the global inspections regime. Saudi Arabia has a nascent nuclear programme that it wants to expand to eventually include proliferation-sensitive uranium enrichment. It is unclear where its ambitions end, since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in 2018 it would develop nuclear weapons if regional rival Iran did. Riyadh has yet to fire up its first nuclear reactor, allowing its programme to still be monitored under the Small Quantities Protocol (SQP), an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency that exempts less advanced states from many reporting obligations and inspections. "We are in conversation with them. They are interested in developing nuclear energy, for peaceful purposes of course," IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said when asked about … [Read more...] about IAEA in wide-ranging talks with Saudi Arabia on tougher nuclear checks

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will partially lift its suspension of international flights as of Sep 15 to allow "exceptional categories" of citizens and residents to travel, the state news agency SPA said on Sunday (Sep 13). The kingdom will scrap all travel restrictions on air, land and sea transport for citizens on Jan 1, 2021, it said. In March, the kingdom suspended international flights to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Exceptional categories include public and military sector employees, diplomats and their families, those working for public or non-profit private sector jobs abroad, businessmen, patients who need treatment abroad, those studying abroad as well as people with humanitarian cases, and sports teams. GCC citizens and non-Saudi residents with valid residency, or visitors' visas will be allowed to enter the kingdom as of Sep 15 conditional on proving they are COVID-19 negative. The kingdom introduced stringent measures to curb the spread of the … [Read more...] about Saudi Arabia to lift some international flight restrictions on Sep 15

CAIRO: Saudi Arabian-led coalition fighter jets early on Sunday (Sep 13) attacked barracks and military sites of the armed Houthi movement in Yemen's capital Sanaa, Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya reported. The coalition also destroyed four Houthi drones at Al-Delmi air base north of Sanaa, Al-Arabiya said, citing local sources. There was no immediate official confirmation from the coalition, which launched air strikes on two sites in Sanaa a day earlier. Those strikes followed a Houthi claim it had attacked an "important target" in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Thursday using a ballistic missile and drones. The coalition did not confirm an attack on Riyadh but said it had intercepted and destroyed ballistic missiles and explosive drones launched towards the kingdom on Thursday. Bombings in Sanaa city have been relatively rare since September 2019, when Saudi Arabia launched indirect talks with the Iran-aligned Houthi movement, which it has been at war with since 2015. The … [Read more...] about Saudi coalition attack Houthi military sites in Yemen’s Sanaa: Report