In a message aimed at 'the West,' Saud al-Shaalan is seen in a video saying 'anybody who challenges the existence of this kingdom, we are all projects of jihad and martyrdom. Anybody that thinks they can threaten us--'
In a message aimed at 'the West,' Saud al-Shaalan is seen in a video saying 'anybody who challenges the existence of this kingdom, we are all projects of jihad and martyrdom. Anybody that thinks they can threaten us--'
Al-Shaalan's threat comes at a time of sky-high tensions between Washington and Riyadh after OPEC+ cut oil production by two million barrels per day and the Biden administration accused the Saudi Kingdom of aligning itself with Russia and Putin.
Biden, in turn, said he would 'reassess' the U.S.'s alliance with the Saudis as the move was sure to jack up gas prices just ahead of midterm elections. A gallon of gas is now averaging $3.88 in the U.S.
Biden claimed that Riyadh would face 'consequences' as aides announced the U.S. would be reevaluating its relationship with the Saudis.
'There´s going to be some consequences for what they've done with Russia,' Biden said in a CNN interview aired last Tuesday.
'I'm not going to get into what I'd consider and what I have in mind,' he added. 'But there will be - there will be consequences.'
Comment:
The Kingdom then hit back with bombshell statement that the Biden administration had requested to delay the OPEC production cut until after the midterms.
The White House is now bracing for a further spike in gas prices before millions of Americans are set to cast their ballots.
'The country that benefits the most from this 2 million barrel cut is Russia,' White House national security spokesman John Kirby said in a call with reporters on Friday.
Comment: If it was only Russia that would benefit, then why are the Saudis going along with it?
The cut 'allows [Putin] to continue to fund his war making machine and it certainly gave him, Mr Putin, a sense of comfort here,' Kirby continued.
The Saudi foreign minister said such an accusation is intended to 'distort the facts' and claimed Saudi Arabia has taken a 'principled position' with respect to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Comment: The Saudi's have refrained from taking sides, as have much of the planet, with the majority of them calling for a peaceful resolution via dialogue; dialogue that the US, that controls Ukraine, have thus far rejected.
Biden himself had a controversial meeting with the crown prince, beginning with a fist bump rather than a handshake, in July to talk energy production.
'The Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would first like to express its total rejection of these statements that are not based on facts, and which are based on portraying the OPEC+ decision out of its purely economic context,' bin Farhan Al Saud said in a statement.
The foreign minister said that Saudi Arabia supports UN resolutions regarding the war and rejects 'any infringement on the sovereignty of countries over their territories.'
The foreign minister also implied the Biden administration had begged them to at least wait until after the midterms to cut production.
'The Government of the Kingdom clarified through its continuous consultation with the U.S. Administration that all economic analyses indicate that postponing the OPEC+ decision for a month, according to what has been suggested, would have had negative economic consequences,' bin Farhan Al Saud said.
But Kirby said Washington presented Riyadh with analysis showing there was 'no market basis' for production cuts and 'they could easily wait till the next OPEC meeting and see how things developed.'
'Other OPEC nations communicated to us privately that they felt coerced to support Saudi's direction.'
In a press call Kirby said Saudi Arabia had been 'twisting arms' to get other nations to agree to the cut, and 'more than one' had privately expressed concerns about doing so.
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