Peace is our priority but the world must take a stand against Iran, says Saudi cabinet

Riyadh, Jan 6: Saudi Arabia was not consulted by its ally Washington over a US drone strike that killed a top Iranian general, an official said Sunday, as the kingdom sought to defuse soaring regional tensions.

Saudi Arabia is vulnerable to possible Iranian reprisals after Tehran vowed "revenge" following the strike on Friday that killed powerful commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad.

"The kingdom of Saudi Arabia was not consulted regarding the US strike," a Saudi official told AFP, requesting anonymity.

"In light of the rapid developments, the kingdom stresses the importance of exercising restraint to guard against all acts that may lead to escalation, with severe consequences," the official added.

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry made a similar call for restraint at the weekend and King Salman emphasised the need for measures to defuse tensions in a phone call on Saturday with Iraqi President Barham Saleh.

In a separate phone call with Iraq's Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stressed "the need to make efforts to calm the situation and de-escalate tensions", the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

The crown prince has instructed Prince Khalid bin Salman, his younger brother and deputy defence minister, to travel to Washington and London in the next few days to urge restraint, the pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported.

Prince Khalid will meet White House and US defence officials, the paper said, citing unnamed sources.

The killing of Soleimani, seen as the second most powerful man in Iran, is the most dramatic escalation yet in spiralling tensions between Washington and Tehran and has prompted fears of a major conflagration in the Middle East.

US President Donald Trump, who ordered the drone strike, has warned that Washington will hit Iran "very fast and very hard" if the Islamic republic attacks American personnel or assets.

The American embassy in Riyadh on Sunday warned its citizens living close to military bases and oil and gas installations in the kingdom of a "heightened risk of missile and drone attacks".

A string of attacks blamed on Iran has caused anxiety in recent months, as Riyadh and Washington deliberated over how to react.

In particular, devastating strikes against Saudi oil installations last September led Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to adopt a more conciliatory approach aimed at avoiding confrontation with Tehran.

Analysts warn that pro-Iran groups have the capacity to carry out attacks on US bases in Gulf states as well as against shipping in the Strait of Hormuz -- the strategic waterway that Tehran could close at will.

"Expect Iranian reprisals (directly or through partner groups in Iraq, Lebanon or elsewhere) to target US partners in the region including Saudi Arabia," said Thomas Juneau, an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa.

"Given the climate in the US, where support for Saudi in the media and Congress is at an all time low, it will be difficult for Trump to commit significant resources to come to its aid."

Yemen's pro-Iran Huthi rebels, locked in a five-year conflict with a Saudi-led military coalition, have also called for swift reprisals for Soleimani's killing.

"The aggression... will not go without a response," said Huthi political council member Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti.

"How the response is going to be, when and where will be determined by Iraq and Iran, and we will stand with them as a hub for the resistance."

It was unclear if the Huthi warning was directed in part at Saudi Arabia, which has stepped up efforts to end Yemen's conflict amid a lull in Huthi attacks on the kingdom.

Saudi Arabian military commanders recently met with counterparts from "friendly countries" to formulate a new strategy to tackle the Yemeni rebels, particularly those "opposing" a political solution, according to Asharq al-Awsat.

Riyadh has said it will host a separate meeting of foreign ministers of Arab and African coastal states on Monday.

May 25: A total of 241 Indians including 136 people who were jailed in Kuwait would return to the country soon, a senior minister said on Sunday.

The other 105 people were stranded in Bangladesh, Law Minister Ratan Lal Nath said.

"Altogether 136 people from Tripura and Assam, who are at present in jail in Kuwait for violating that country's laws, would be deported. They will reach Guwahati between May 27 and June 4 in a special flight," Nath told reporters.

He said the matter has been officially informed by the Kuwaiti government, but the reason for their imprisonment is not known.

"We had requested the Kuwaiti authorities to drop the Tripura residents here. However, they informed us that the flight would land in a single airport," the minister added.

Nath said 105 residents of Tripura, who are stranded in different places of Bangladesh will return to the state through the Agartala-Akhaura integrated check post on May 28.

"They would be taken to institutional quarantine and swabs of all the passengers would be collected for COVID-19 test," Nath said.

If the report of their samples tests negative, they would be allowed to leave the facility and remain under 14 days of home quarantine. And those who test positive would be hospitalized, he said.

The Tawakkalna application developed by Saudi Arabia's National Information Centre to processes requests for movement permits during the curfew to curb the spread of the virus has become a major helplnine for past few weeks. 

The application developed through the close cooperation between the Ministry of Health and the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) was launched on May 4.

According to Saudi Telecom Group, it handles 20,000 calls daily through the Tawakkalna platform by dedicating a call centre of 600 employees through its Contact Centre Company (CCC). 

The Tawakkalna app can be used to issue e-permits for a selected group of government and private sector employees who were exempted from the curfew, and individuals who have medical appointments as well as couriers.

Tawakkalna has features for the service of citizens and residents, for ensuring their safety and comfort that would contribute to facilitating the access of authorized persons to travel permits.

The official page about Tawakkalna on Twitter, says: “You must always keep in mind that pinpointing your exact location of residence is the only way for you to benefit from the app’s range of services and permits.”

The app will also provide the latest alerts and medical news issued by the Ministry of Health about the virus as well as about its spread, ways to prevent it and movement permits.

Tawakkalna can be used for self-disclosure for people who show signs of coronavirus infection and for requesting ambulance service and other important services for the community.

Through the app users can apply for a one-hour permit for a walk in the neighborhood on a daily basis, thereby encouraging walking during this period of lockdown.