Saudi will strike those who threaten its security, crown prince warns

[webfact]

Saudi will strike those who threaten its security, crown prince warns

 

FILE PHOTO: Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends the Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) 40th Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia December 10, 2019. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

 

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will strike those who threaten the kingdom's security and stability with an "iron fist", the crown prince said on Thursday, one day after an attack on a Remembrance Day ceremony injured two in the kingdom.

 

Islamic State claimed Wednesday's attack on a non-Muslim cemetery in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah during a World War One remembrance ceremony involving French and other embassies. The group provided no evidence for the claim.

 

"We will continue to hit with an iron fist against anyone who thinks of threatening our security and stability," Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler, said in a speech carried by Saudi state news agency SPA.

 

Wednesday's attack occurred two weeks after a Saudi man wounded a security guard at the French consulate in Jeddah with what has been described as a "sharp tool" and after recent Islamist militant attacks in France and Austria.

 

Prince Mohammed said Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, is committed to confronting extremism, and rejects and condemns all terrorist acts.

 

He said actual terror attacks in the kingdom, the world's top oil exporter and a key U.S. ally, had "fallen to near zero" following a restructuring of the interior ministry and reforming of the security sector that began in mid-2017.

 

Prince Mohammed became heir to the throne following a palace coup in 2017 that ousted the then-crown prince.

 

The prince also said the kingdom would continue to combat corruption after the state recovered 247 billion riyals ($65.86 billion) in settlements in addition to assets worth tens of billions of riyals in the past three years.

 

In January 2019 Saudi Arabia ended a sweeping anti-corruption campaign in which many members of the kingdom's economic and political elite were detained.

 

Critics saw the crackdown as a power grab by the crown prince, who has moved to sideline any rivals to his eventual succession to the throne. Prince Mohammed has defended the campaign as "shock therapy" as he tries to overhaul the economy.

 

($1 = 3.7504 riyals)

 

(Reporting by Marwa Rashad and Alaa Swilam, writing by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Alexandra Hudson)

 

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-11-13

 

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[sammieuk1]

There will be an invite to a Saudi embassy for our turban wearing friends to receive some iron fist no doubt ????

[onebir]

33 minutes ago, webfact said:

He said actual terror attacks in the kingdom, the world's top oil exporter and a key U.S. ally, had "fallen to near zero" following a restructuring of the interior ministry

'Sharp tool' incident in Jeddah aside,  I wonder if he's counting the one in the cemetery two days ago on Armistice Day. (Either 2's 'near enough' to zero in MBS arithmetic, or the tool's not so sharp.)

[Salerno]

43 minutes ago, webfact said:

Prince Mohammed said Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, is committed to confronting extremism, and rejects and condemns all terrorist acts.

 

Of course you do 

[Lacessit]

31 minutes ago, Salerno said:

 

Of course you do 

I guess Khashoggi's death was just an oops moment.

[PatOngo]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Saudi Arabia will strike those who threaten the kingdom's security and stability with an "iron fist" 

Will they murder any more journalists, cut them into small pieces and dispose of them? 

[Expat Brad]

And once Biden is comfortably in the chair, the US will again be dropping bombs in the Middle East..... for  US economic security!!!

[placeholder]

39 minutes ago, Expat Brad said:

And once Biden is comfortably in the chair, the US will again be dropping bombs in the Middle East..... for  US economic security!!!

Actually Trump has greatly increased support for Saudi Arabia's murderous campaign in Yemen. It's currently the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

[Srikcir]

When a single drone strike shutdown 50% of SA's oil production, SA might think more in terms of diplomacy.

[Freigeist365]

Did he run out of Khashoggi Burgers that he's so angry all of a sudden? Try Mac D's Angus Burgers, bro - they are almost as tasty ????

[Opl]

Remember the Saudi Arabia flag design only.

 

Edited November 13, 2020 by Opl

[Benmart]

8 hours ago, Expat Brad said:

And once Biden is comfortably in the chair, the US will again be dropping bombs in the Middle East..... for  US economic security!!!

The telling of future events is guess work. Try the stockmarket.

[IAMHERE]

16 hours ago, PatOngo said:

Will they murder any more journalists, cut them into small pieces and dispose of them? 

Does it have to be a journalist ? If not then my guess is 'yes' .

[pacovl46]

Or dispose of them in an embassy abroad perhaps?