Saudi Arabia’s New 100% Shisha Tax Sparks Fury
Tag: Saudi Arabia
35 Killed In Saudi Arabia Bus Crash
Thirty-five foreigners were killed and four others injured when a bus collided with another heavy vehicle near the Islamic holy city of Medina, Saudi state media said on Thursday.
The accident on Wednesday evening involved the collision of “a private chartered bus… with a heavy vehicle” near the western city, a spokesman for Medina police said, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.
Those involved were Arab and Asian pilgrims travelling from Medina to Mecca, according to local media, which carried pictures of the bus engulfed in flames and with its windows blown out.
The injured have been transferred to Al-Hamna Hospital, SPA added. Authorities have launched an investigation.
The Okaz newspaper said that the victims were expatriates who lived in the kingdom and who were performing the umrah, the lesser pilgrimage to the Muslim holy places which can be undertaken year round.
This year, some 2.5 million faithful travelled to Saudi Arabia from across the world in August to take part in the annual hajj pilgrimage — one of the five pillars of Islam.
The hajj and the umrah centre on the western city of Mecca and its surrounding hills and valleys, but the itinerary also often takes in the other holy city of Medina.
Last year, a high-speed train line was opened linking Mecca and Medina in just two and a half hours, halving the previous travel time.
Prince Faisal bin Salman, the governor of Medina region, expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, SPA said.
Pakistan said four people survived the bus crash, including one of its nationals, while several other Pakistani citizens were killed.
“It has been reported that 35 passengers out of total 39 lost their lives,” the foreign ministry in Islamabad said in a statement.
“Initial reports indicate that the deceased also include a certain number of Pakistani nationals. Of the four (4) survivors, there is one Pakistani named Mr. Akbar, who is seriously injured,” it added.
Transport Challenge
The nationalities of the other victims was not immediately known but Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also sent his condolences.
“Anguished by the news of a bus crash near Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Condolences to the families of those who lost their lives. Praying for a quick recovery of the injured,” he tweeted.
Transporting worshippers around the holy sites, particularly during the hajj, is a huge challenge for Saudi Arabia.
During the pilgrimage, the roads can be chaotic with thousands of buses creating interminable traffic jams.
Four British pilgrims were killed and 12 others injured in April last year when their bus collided with a fuel tanker while they were on the way to Mecca.
And in January 2017, six Britons, including a two-month-old baby, were killed in a minibus on their way to Medina after making a pilgrimage to Mecca.
In September 2015, a stampede killed up to 2,300 worshippers — including hundreds of Iranians — in the worst disaster ever to strike the hajj.
Earlier that month, 100 people were killed when a construction crane toppled into a courtyard of Mecca’s Grand Mosque.
As part of efforts to diversify its oil-dependent economy, the ultra-conservative kingdom wants to foster a year-round religious tourism sector that attracts millions of pilgrims.
Up until last month, it only issued visas to Muslim pilgrims, foreign workers and recently to spectators at sporting or cultural events, but tourists are now allowed to visit as part of the drive to wean the biggest Arab economy off its dependence on oil.
Saudi Condemns Turkey’s ‘Aggression’ In Syria
Saudi Arabia condemned Turkey’s offensive Wednesday against Kurdish areas in northeast Syria saying it would undermine the region’s security and the battle against jihadists.
The Turkish army’s “aggression” would have “negative repercussions on the security and stability of the region”, the foreign ministry said on Twitter.
It would also “undermine international efforts to fight the Islamic State terrorist group”.
AFP
Saudi Rules Women Can Join Armed Forces
Saudi Arabia announced Wednesday it will allow women in the ultra-conservative kingdom to serve in the armed forces as it embarks on a broad programme of economic and social reforms.
The move is the latest in a series of measures aimed at increasing the rights of women in the kingdom, even as rights groups accuse Riyadh of cracking down on women activists.
“Another step to empowerment,” the foreign ministry wrote on Twitter, adding that women would be able to serve as private first class, corporal or sergeant.
Last year, Saudi Arabia authorised women to join its security forces.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, has approved a handful of reforms aimed at widening women’s rights, including allowing them to drive and to travel abroad without consent from a male “guardian”.
But he has at the same time overseen the arrest of several prominent women’s rights campaigners, including activist Loujain al-Hathloul.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter, is pushing to improve its image and attract tourists as part of a plan to diversify its economy away from oil.
Khashoggi Murder: UN Expert Blasts Saudi Prince Over Defence
A UN rights expert on Monday criticised Saudi Arabia’s crown prince for trying to create “distance” between himself and journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s execution, even as he appeared to acknowledge the Saudi state was responsible.
Agnes Callamard, a United Nations special rapporteur who conducted an investigation into Khashoggi’s murder, was reacting to an interview broadcast by US media on Sunday with Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Speaking to CBS’s 60 Minutes, Prince Mohammed denied ordering or having advanced warning of Khashoggi’s killing on October 2 last year at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, but said he “took full responsibility as a leader in Saudi Arabia”.
Callamard, whose independent probe found “credible evidence” linking the crown prince to the murder and attempted cover up, dismissed that defence as “problematic”.
“He is only taking corporate responsibility for the crime, which goes without saying,” Callamard told AFP, days ahead of the first anniversary since Khashoggi’s death.
She said the interview appeared to mark a concession by Prince Mohammed that “the killing of Mr. Khashoggi was a state killing,” and therefore a rejection of Riyadh’s previous explanation that responsibility for the brutal murder lay with rogue agents.
But Callamard condemned the prince, known by his initials MBS, for taking “no personal responsibility for the crime”.
“He is creating huge distance between himself and the crime,” by arguing that he cannot be liable for the conduct of all Saudi government employees.
Callamard told AFP that “for the last 12 months, the Saudi state, their various representatives and (MBS) included have been lying to the international community regarding the nature of the crime. So now we are supposed to take his word that, yes, he has a corporate responsibility but he has no personal responsibility?”
“Not good enough,” she said.
The CIA has also reportedly said the killing was likely ordered by Prince Mohammed.
But Saudi prosecutors have absolved the prince and said two dozen people implicated in the murder are in custody, with death penalties sought against five men.
Justice not ‘easy’
Callamard has previously blamed UN “paralysis” for the failure to punish those who murdered Khashoggi — a US resident, Washington Post contributor and critic of the Saudi royal family.
She has called on Secretary General Antonio Guterres to independently launch a UN criminal probe.
The UN chief’s office has said that is impossible without a member state request.
“I have not argued that this will be easy for (Guterres) procedurally or politically to do. What I am arguing is that if he wanted, and if he received sufficient formal or informal backing, he could find the legal backing to move forward,” Callamard said.
AFP
Oil Prices Drop As Saudi Eyes Non-Military Solution To Iran Crisis
US Announces Deployment Of 200 Troops, Missiles To Saudi Arabia
The United States announced Thursday the deployment of 200 troops as well as Patriot missiles to Saudi Arabia to help the country’s defense in the wake of last month’s attacks on oil installations blamed on Iran.
The Defense Department said the deployment would involve one battery of the surface-to-air missiles, along with four Sentinel radars used for air and missile defense systems.
In addition, two more Patriot batteries and one THAAD ballistic missile interception system are being readied in case a decision is made to also supply them to the Saudis, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said.
“This deployment will augment the kingdom’s air and missile defense of critical military and civilian infrastructure,” he said.
It comes “in light of recent attacks on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” he said.
“It is important to note these steps are a demonstration of our commitment to regional partners, and the security and stability in the Middle East,” he added.
“Other countries have called out Iranian misadventures in the region, and we look for them to contribute assets in an international effort to reinforce Saudi Arabia’s defense.”
The US has pointed to Iran being behind the combination drone and cruise missile attacks on September 14 which heavily damaged two Saudi oil installations, forcing the key oil supplier to slash output.
Iran has denied responsibility, and President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday challenged the US and others to provide evidence to back up their accusations
AFP
Saudi Oil Attacks An Iranian ‘Act Of War’, Says Pompeo
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced strikes on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure as an “act of war” on Wednesday, as Riyadh unveiled new evidence it said showed the assault was “unquestionably” sponsored by arch-foe Iran.
The comments raise the risk of a wider conflict in the tinderbox Gulf region after the weekend strikes on the heart of the kingdom’s oil industry knocked out half its production, rattling energy markets.
“This was an Iranian attack,” Pompeo told reporters on his plane before landing in the western city of Jeddah, calling it “an act of war”.
“This is an attack of a scale we’ve just not seen before.”
His comment came as Saudi Arabia displayed what it said were fragments of 25 drones and cruise missiles fired at two facilities in the country’s east, engulfing them in flames.
“The attack was launched from the north and unquestionably sponsored by Iran,” defence ministry spokesman Turki al-Maliki said.
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Tehran-linked Huthi rebels in the kingdom’s southern neighbour Yemen have claimed responsibility, but both Washington and Riyadh have ruled that out.
“We are working to know the exact launch point,” Maliki said.
But he would not be drawn on whether Saudi officials believed Iran would ultimately be found to be the culprit.
Pompeo said there was no evidence for media reports the attacks had been launched from Iraq — caught between its two main sponsors, Tehran and Washington.
Diplomats at the United Nations said experts were expected in the kingdom to lead an international inquiry.
Pompeo met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah to discuss a response to the strike, which took out six percent of global supplies.
Meanwhile, the Huthis threatened to hit “dozens of targets” in the United Arab Emirates, part of a Saudi-led coalition against the rebels.
‘We don’t want war’
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP the administration has concluded the attack involved cruise missiles from Iran, and said evidence would be presented at the UN General Assembly next week.
Vice President Mike Pence reiterated President Donald Trump’s comments that “we don’t want war with anybody, but the United States is prepared.”
Trump, who has already re-imposed sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy, promised on Wednesday to “substantially increase” the measures, winning quick praise from Riyadh.
He said details would be given within 48 hours.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, himself under US sanctions since July 31, described the measures as “illegal” and “inhuman”.
Trump’s move was an “admission that (the) US is DELIBERATELY targeting ordinary citizens,” he said on Twitter.
The apparent hardening of the US position came as Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ruled out negotiations with Washington “at any level”.
That appeared to nix hopes for a dramatic meeting between Trump and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani at the United Nations next week.
Late Wednesday, the United States still had not issued Rouhani and his delegation with visas to attend the meeting in New York, Iranian state media said.
Maliki said Saturday’s attack did not originate from Yemen, where Saudi Arabia is locked in a prolonged conflict with the Huthis, “despite Iran’s efforts to make it appear so”.
He said the strike was beyond the capabilities of the militia — who have however mounted dozens of smaller attacks on Saudi territory.
“The precision impact of the cruise missile” indicated advanced capabilities beyond those of the Huthis, he added.
Oil prices rocked
Observers say the Saudi experience in Yemen, where despite their vast firepower they have failed to subdue the ragtag but highly motivated militia, has made Riyadh circumspect about wading into another conflict.
“I certainly hope we’re not” going to have a war, Riyadh’s ambassador to London Prince Khalid bin Bandar told the BBC.
“We are trying not to react too quickly because the last thing we need is more conflict in the region.”
Iran has backed Huthi claims of being behind the attack, and Rouhani said Wednesday it was a rebel “warning” about a possible wider war in response to the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen.
State media said Tehran had written to Washington through the Swiss embassy on Monday, denying any role in attacks on Saudi installations and warning it would respond to any action against it.
Trump’s administration is considering responses including a cyber attack or a physical strike on Iranian oil infrastructure or its Revolutionary Guards, NBC News reported, citing unnamed US officials.
Oil prices have see-sawed since the attacks, with record gains Monday followed by a tumble Tuesday as the Saudi assurances on supplies soothed the markets.
Germany Extends Saudi Arms Exports Ban
Germany has extended a weapons export embargo against Saudi Arabia for six months until the end of March 2020, a government spokesman said Wednesday.
Besides a halt in deliveries during the period, no new weapons contracts would be approved, the spokesman added about the embargo, which was imposed last October over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
AFP
Saudi To Announce Oil Attacks Findings As US Weighs Retaliation
UK, Germany Urge ‘Collective Response’ To Saudi Attacks
Britain and Germany on Tuesday urged the international community to forge a “collective response” to the drone attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil installations, which US officials have blamed on Iran.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the attacks during a telephone conversation, agreeing on “the need to work together, alongside international partners, to agree a collective response,” according to Downing Street.
The weekend strikes on Abqaiq — the world’s largest processing plant — and the Khurais oilfield have knocked out 5.7 million barrels per day (bpd), or six percent of global production, sending prices soaring.
Washington has blamed Tehran, and President Donald Trump has said that the United States is ready to help Saudi Arabia, but will wait for a “definitive” determination on who was responsible.
Johnson and Merkel stressed the “importance of avoiding the further escalation of tensions in the region”.
The weekend attacks have spiked tensions and prompted concerns about an escalation. Conflict in the Gulf region could put a large portion of global energy supplies at risk.
AFP
Half Of Lost Saudi Oil To Remain ‘Offline’ For A Month – Report