Saudi Arabia

MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s King Salman opened an emergency summit of Arab leaders in Islam’s holiest city of Mecca on Friday with a call for the international community to use all means to confront Iran, but he also said the kingdom remains committed to peace.

King Salman delivered his remarks at Arab summits in Mecca that were hastily convened after a spike in tensions between Saudi Arabia and its rival Iran.

28 May 2019; MEMO: The plane of the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani landed at Jeddah airport in Saudi Arabia for the first time since the outbreak of the Gulf crisis two years ago.

“Qatar Airways is landing at Jeddah airport for the first time since the outbreak of the Gulf crisis and the siege of Qatar,” Qatar Airways said on its Twitter account.

24 May 2019; MEMO: The International Union of Muslim Scholars has called on Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to immediately release all prisoners of conscience.

“We are increasingly concerned over media reports claiming that verdicts will soon be issued or may have been issued against three prominent moderate scholars namely Salman Al-Ouda, Awad Al-Qarni and Ali Al-Omari which Saudi Arabia did not deny,” the statement said, describing the planned execution as “a great crime”.

21 May 2019; DW: Houthi-run Masirah TV said on Tuesday that the Yemeni rebel group had launched a drone attack on Najran airport in Saudi Arabia which caused a fire to break out at the facility.

The airport is located in the city of Najran on the Saudi-Yemen border, an area that has repeatedly been targeted by Houthi rebels.

19 May 2019; AFP: Saudi Arabia has called for urgent meetings of the regional Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League to discuss escalating tensions in the region, the kingdom's official news agency said on Saturday.

The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said King Salman had invited Gulf leaders and Arab states to two emergency summits in Mecca on May 30 to discuss recent "aggressions and their consequences" in the region.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia accused Tehran of being behind a drone strike that shut down a key oil pipeline in the kingdom, and a newspaper close to the palace called for Washington to launch “surgical” strikes on Iran, raising the specter of escalating tensions as the U.S. boosts its military presence in the Persian Gulf.

15 May 2019; MEMO: Tensions in the Middle East appear to be pushing up the price of oil, with a barrel of Brent crude now costing $71.75, an increase of 1.9 per cent. The cost of a barrel of US crude, meanwhile, is now $62.48, up 2.6 per cent.

15 May 2019; AFP: Drone attacks claimed by Iran-aligned Yemen rebels shut down one of Saudi Arabia's major oil pipelines Tuesday, further ratcheting up Gulf tensions after the mysterious sabotage of several tankers.

Washington and Tehran played down tensions after trading barbs as the Americans sent an aircraft carrier group and nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to the region to counter alleged threats from Saudi arch-rival Iran.

RIYADH, May 13 (Xinhua): Saudi Arabia confirmed on Monday that two of its oil tankers were part of the sabotage attack on Sunday in the waters near the United Arab Emirates, off the coast of the emirate of Fujairah.

The Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, Khalid Al-Falih, confirmed in a statement through Saudi Press Agency that the two oil tankers were attacked while on their way to cross into the Gulf.

The attack didn't lead to any casualties or oil spill; however, it caused significant damage to the structures of the two vessels, the minister said.

RIYADH, May 12 (Xinhua): Saudi Arabia has offered a grant of 10 million U.S. dollars to Mauritius to help the hurricane victims in the African island nation, the Arab News daily reported Sunday.

The grant was handed in the capital Riyadh by Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, supervisor-general of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief) to Shaukat Ali Soudhan, the visiting president of the ruling party of Mauritius, in order to help establish a rapid response system against a natural disaster in Mauritius.