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Saudi Aramco posts close to 300% leap in Q2 revenue on international demand restoration

Saudi Aramco posts near 300% leap in Q2 profit on global demand recovery

The Saudi Aramco logo is pictured at the oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia on October 12, 2019.

Maxim Shemetov | Reuters

Saudi state oil giant Aramco reported a staggering 288% increase in net income to $ 25.5 billion for the second quarter, while maintaining its dividend of $ 18.8 billion amid large oil prices from higher prices and a rebound benefit from global demand.

Aramco’s net income of $ 25.5 billion for the quarter compared to $ 6.6 billion in the same quarter of 2020. Earnings exceeded expectations, with analysts posting an average net income of $ 24.7 billion for the quarter expect.

“Our second quarter results reflect a strong recovery in global energy demand and we are moving into the second half of 2021 with more resilience and flexibility as the global recovery picks up,” said Amin Nasser, President and CEO of Aramco, in an am Corporate statement published on Sunday.

Aramco said net income for the first half was $ 47.2 billion, compared to $ 23.2 billion in the first half of 2020, an increase of 103%. The company said the results were supported by easing Covid-19 restrictions around the world, vaccination campaigns, stimulus measures and accelerating activities in key markets.

“Although the challenges posed by Covid-19 variants are still uncertain, we have shown that we can adapt quickly and effectively to changing market conditions,” said Nasser.

Dividend plans

Aramco said free cash flow was $ 22.6 billion for the second quarter and $ 40.9 billion for the first half of 2021, compared to $ 6.1 billion and $ 21.1 billion, respectively. Dollars in the same time periods in 2020.

This is significant because free cash flow has now risen above the $ 18.75 billion quarterly dividend for the first time since the pandemic began. Aramco already pays the world’s largest dividend, but the improving outlook has led some analysts to call for higher payouts.

“A dividend hike is needed to stay competitive,” BofA analysts said in a research note ahead of the results. “Higher oil prices and OPEC + -driven production increases should support a significant increase in free cash flow over the next few years,” she added.

Aramco responded that its dividend would remain at “normal levels” for the quarter but would “advise” later on whether to stick to its current payout schedule.

“We’re looking at our sustainability program,” Nasser told CNBC on Sunday’s conference call. “Many of the elements of our capital program that we are currently considering have to do with crude oil-to-chemistry and hydrogen, and all of these programs offer great opportunities, particularly with the Shareek program,” he added.

Aramco, which is majority owned by the Saudi Arabian government, is an important source of income for the kingdom. “All of this will be reviewed with our board of directors and we will decide on an additional dividend payment at a later date,” said Nasser.

Price outlook

Oil prices soared around 40% to around $ 70 a barrel in 2021, prompting major oil rivals BP, Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell to raise dividends and launch share buyback programs.

“We assume that the recovery will continue,” said Nasser. “We’re seeing more economies opening and we expect demand to be around 99 million barrels by the end of the year … and 100 million barrels next year as a forecast for aggregate demand,” he added.

Amin Nasser, CEO of Saudi Aramco, gesticulates during a panel meeting on the third day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, January 23, 2020.

Jason Alden | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Aramco also said it lowered its gearing ratio – essentially how much the company is debt-financed to equity – to 19.4% on June 30, down from 23% on December 31, 2020. The decrease was mainly due to higher cash and cash equivalents and stronger operating cash flows and proceeds related to Aramco’s most recent crude oil pipeline transaction.

“Our historic $ 12.4 billion pipeline deal was an endorsement of our long-term business strategy from international investors and represents a significant advance in our portfolio optimization program,” said Nasser.

Capital expenditures were $ 7.5 billion for the second quarter and $ 15.7 billion for the first half of 2021, up 20% and 15% respectively. Capital expenditures are expected to be around $ 35 billion in 2021, according to Aramco.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the kingdom would sell more Aramco shares earlier this year, but the company made no comment on the plans. Aramco also briefly stopped commenting on a previously announced oil-to-chemicals deal with Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, which is expected to be formalized later this year.

“We are advancing a number of strategic programs that focus on sustainability and low carbon fuels, maximizing the value of our assets and driving our downstream integration and expansion,” added Nasser.

“For all of these and other reasons, I am very positive about the second half of 2021 and beyond.”

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9/11 households, survivors ask Biden to not attend memorial occasions over Saudi docs

9/11 families, survivors ask Biden not to attend memorial events over Saudi docs

Nearly 1,800 9/11 survivors, victims’ family members and first responders are telling President Joe Biden that he should skip memorial events this year unless he declassifies U.S. documents detailing Saudi Arabia’s role in the deadly attacks. 

Next month will mark 20 years since the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans at the World Trade Center in New York, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania.

The group argued that Biden has failed to fulfill his campaign promise to release as much information as possible on the attacks and has ignored their numerous letters and requests that called on him to do so. 

“Twenty years later, there is simply no reason — unmerited claims of ‘national security’ or otherwise — to keep this information secret,” the group said in their statement. 

“But if President Biden reneges on his commitment and sides with the Saudi government, we would be compelled to publicly stand in objection to any participation by his administration in any memorial ceremony of 9/11,” the group said.

A White House spokesperson said in a statement that its Office of Public Engagement and National Security Council staff have met with 9/11 victims’ family members to discuss their requests for documents and “hear their thoughts on policy priorities,” NBC News reported Friday.

In his campaign promise, Biden pledged to direct his Department of Justice to examine cases where the disclosure of FBI information related to the 9/11 attacks is recommended. He said that releasing such information would be “narrowly tailored” to protect against the risk of harm to national security. 

“I intend to be a President for all Americans, and will hear all of their voices,” Biden said. “The 9/11 Families are right to seek full truth and accountability.”

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The group said they had “great hopes” that Biden would diverge from previous administrations and said they were disappointed that he did not live up to his words after his inauguration.

They said that since the 9/11 Commission investigation concluded, in 2004, there has been investigative evidence found “implicating Saudi government officials” in supporting the attacks. 

The 9/11 Commission found it likely that Saudi government-funded charities supported the attacks but did not find any evidence of direct funding from the government, according to NBC News. 

The group particularly called for the release of FBI documents from a 2016 investigation of Saudi Arabia. They said they believe the documents would reveal whether any individuals associated with al Qaeda, the group that carried out the terrorist attacks, received assistance or financing from the Saudi Arabian government. 

Fifteen of the 19 attackers in the 9/11 attacks were Saudi citizens, and mastermind Osama Bin Laden was born in Saudi Arabia, but the country’s government has denied allegations that it was involved.

Multiple presidential administrations have cited “security concerns” in their reasoning for withholding documents related to the terrorist attacks, the group’s statement said. 

Most recently, the Trump administration invoked the state secrets privilege in 2019 to justify keeping documents classified, according to NBC News.

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Saudi Arabia Limits Hajj to 60,000 From Inside the Nation

Saudi Arabia Limits Hajj to 60,000 From Within the Country

The annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca next month will be limited to 60,000 due to the coronavirus pandemic and to people living in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi press agency said on Saturday, as authorities host an event that normally attracts millions of people , strictly restrict each year from all over the world.

The event was almost completely abandoned last year when only about 1,000 people with social distancing and masking requirements were able to attend the ritual.

The Hajj, which all physically and financially capable Muslims should complete at least once, is scheduled to begin in mid-July. The press agency announced that participation is limited to vaccinated pilgrims between the ages of 18 and 65.

The Saudi authorities announced last month that the ritual would not return to normal this year. Fahad Nazer, a spokesman for the Saudi Embassy in Washington, said on Twitter that “there will be preventive and preventive measures to ensure the health and safety of pilgrims”.

The decision, attributed to the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, will disappoint many Muslims, who often save up and wait for years for the pilgrimage in hopes of obtaining a Hajj visa. Getting a spot can be difficult as demand is exceptionally high and Saudi Arabia limits the number of pilgrims who can attend from each country each year.

Saudi Arabia has reported 7,537 coronavirus deaths, according to a New York Times database. It recently reopened to international air travel but also said vaccination will be required to enter most buildings and public transportation as of August.

In other news from around the world:

  • In France, Officials granted an exception to the country’s pandemic curfew on Friday night, which allowed 5,000 fans to stay for the remainder of the French Open semi-final game between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

  • In the United States, Fully vaccinated lawmakers and House staff no longer need to wear a mask or maintain a two-meter social distance after updated Congressional physician guidelines were issued on Friday.

  • In Canada, 300,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid vaccine have been rejected by the country’s health product regulatory agency due to contamination issues at the U.S. facility where it was manufactured.

  • In Brasil, At least a dozen players and employees of the Venezuelan national soccer team tested positive for the corona virus the day before the Copa America opener against Brazil.

  • In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, The country’s president, Felix Tshisekedi, said Saturday that the hospitals in the state capital Kinshasa were “overwhelmed,” Reuters reported. The Congo reported one of the highest daily case numbers since the pandemic began on Friday.

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Business

Saudi Aramco’s Revenue Fell 44 P.c in 2020

Saudi Aramco’s Profit Fell 44 Percent in 2020

Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s national oil company, said Sunday that net income fell 44 percent to $ 49 billion last year as oil prices fell due to the pandemic in earnings.

The company’s managing director, Amin H. Nasser, described 2020 in a statement on the earnings data as “one of the most challenging years in recent history”.

However, Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, said it would stick to its promise to pay a dividend of $ 75 billion. Almost all of the payment goes to the Saudi government, which owns around 98 percent of the company.

The company was listed on the local Tadawul Stock Exchange in the largest rating for an IPO in 2019.

Despite the listing, the Saudi government continues to have a grip on the company’s oil exploration policies, resulting in a roller coaster year. By order of the Saudi government, the company increased oil production in the spring of 2020 when it was fighting a price war with Russia. The surge caused the company to hit record production levels of 12.1 million barrels per day in April and also contributed to an oil glut and a sharp drop in world market prices.

More recently, Aramco has cut production under an agreement with other members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, as well as Russia and a few other manufacturers, a group called OPEC Plus. In January, Saudi Arabia announced it would cut another 1 million barrels a day below the quota agreed with OPEC Plus, a policy it is continuing. Average production for 2020 was 9.2 million barrels per day.

Data released on Sunday showed that Aramco pays more dividends than it makes from oil operations. Free cash flow, a measure of profit after expense, was also $ 49 billion, meaning the company raised $ 26 billion to pay to shareholders.

In yet another reflection of the turmoil in the oil markets last year, the company cut investments 18 percent from 2019 to $ 27 billion. Aramco anticipated investments of around $ 35 billion in 2021, less than previously forecast of $ 40 billion to $ 45 billion.

Aramco has received the award as the most profitable company in the world in recent years. But the impact of the pandemic, which briefly caused some oil futures to dip below zero, as well as the appeal of tech products and services while people were working from home, pushed Apple forward. Apple’s net income for fiscal 2020, which ended September 26, was $ 57 billion.

The income statement on Sunday was limited to a few highlights. Saudi Aramco is expected to provide more details on Monday during a meeting with financial analysts.

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Saudi Aramco revenue drops after Covid-battered 12 months, upholds dividend

Saudi Aramco profit drops after Covid-battered year, upholds dividend

A worker at an oil processing plant for Saudi Aramco, a Saudi Arabian state oil and gas company, in the Abqaiq oil field.

Stanislav Krasilnikov | TASS | Getty Images

Oil giant Saudi Aramco reported a 44% drop in full-year 2020 results but maintained its dividend payout of $ 75 billion. CEO Amin Nasser described the last twelve months as one of the “most challenging years” in recent history.

Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s giant state-owned oil company, posted net income of $ 49 billion in 2020, up from $ 88.19 billion in 2019. Earnings were slightly below analysts’ expectations of $ 48.1 billion, but is still the highest of all listed companies in the world.

“In one of the most challenging years in recent history, Aramco has demonstrated its unique value proposition through considerable financial and operational agility,” said Amin Nasser, chief executive of Saudi Aramco, in a statement from the company on Sunday.

Aramco said sales were impacted by lower crude oil prices and volumes sold, as well as weaker margins in refineries and chemicals.

The company also expects to cut investments in the coming year, slashing its spending forecast from $ 40 billion to $ 45 billion to around $ 35 billion.

Free cash flow was down nearly 40% to $ 49 billion, well below the level of the highly anticipated dividend. Aramco also declared a $ 75 billion payout for 2020, despite fears it would take on additional debt to keep it up.

“Looking ahead, our long-term strategy to optimize our oil and gas portfolio is on track. As the macro environment improves, we see a pickup in demand in Asia and positive signs in other countries,” he added.

Shares in leading Western oil and gas companies, including Royal Dutch Shell and BP, fell to multi-year lows in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic devastated the global economy and sparked historic oil prices. Exxon Mobil, the largest US energy company, posted its first annual loss.

Escalating attacks on oil facilities

Aramco’s facilities have been the target of several attacks by the Houthi rebels in Yemen – attacks that escalated this year, with Saudi Arabia and Iran, the latter of which supports the rebels, opposing the sides of the bloody civil war in Yemen.

Houthi rocket bursts in parts of Saudi Arabia, which hit Aramco’s facilities in early March, briefly brought the price of oil above USD 70 a barrel to the highest level in more than a year. Most recently, the rebels took responsibility for drone attacks on an Aramco plant in the capital Riyadh on Friday, which led to a fire that, according to the Saudi energy ministry, was quickly brought under control without any losses.

When asked how the company wanted to reassure investors and the global community that its infrastructure was well protected and ready to prevent serious business disruptions, CEO Amin Nasser said the attacks had “no business impact.”

“I think the most important thing is the willingness of our employees,” Nasser told CNBC during a press conference after the results were released. “There is always something you learn from every attack and you go out and improve your emergency response … and you make sure you have what it takes to restore these facilities if they are attacked.”

“We learned a lot and were able to prove with a reliability of 99.9% that we are able to put the system back into operation in every scenario, to guarantee the safety of our employees and to guarantee this at the same time.” The deliveries to our customers are fulfilled, “added Nasser.

“The attack on Riyadh is a good demonstration. Within hours of putting the fires out and completing the investigation, we started (re) operating the facility,” he said. “The Riyadh refinery went live today. This is a demonstration of the capabilities and contingency plan and emergency response of the first responders.”

Nasser was also optimistic about the outlook for oil demand in 2021.

“We have seen prices improve, with demand picking up and recovery much better. China is also very close to pre-pandemic levels,” said the CEO.

“As the use of vaccines increases, we will see a stronger pick-up in demand, so we are very optimistic about demand growth, especially in the second half of the year, and we can see that prices so far are responsive to what we see in the market We look forward to a much better year in 2021. ”

The international benchmark for Brent crude is $ 64.53 a barrel, up 25% year-to-date and a whopping 73% year-over-year.

Several oil analysts have raised their 2021 price predictions for vaccine and demand confidence. Goldman Sachs is forecasting a spike to $ 80 a barrel by the third quarter of this year – something unimaginable when WTI prices went negative for the first time in history about one year ago.

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U.S. to supply extra element on actions in opposition to Saudi Arabia

U.S. to provide more detail on actions against Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman speaks during the Future Investment Initiative Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 24, 2018.

To contact Algaloud Reuters

The State Department will provide additional information on action against Saudi Arabia on Monday after a U.S. intelligence report found the Crown Prince responsible for the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, a White House official told NBC News.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday imposed visa restrictions on 76 Saudi people believed to have “threatened overseas dissidents, including but not limited to the murder of Khashoggi”.

The office of the director of the National Intelligence Service released a report on Friday that found that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the operation that killed Khashoggi. The report cited the Crown Prince’s control over decision-making in Saudi Arabia.

However, the New York Times reported Friday that the Biden government would not punish the crown prince for Khashoggi’s murder. The White House ruled that such measures would create excessive costs for US-Saudi Arabia cooperation on counter-terrorism and confrontation with Iran, according to the Times.

When asked on Saturday whether the US would punish the crown prince, Biden said the government would make an announcement on Monday about relations with Saudi Arabia. However, a White House official clarified that the announcement will include additional details about the state’s actions on Friday.

“The recalibration of relations with Saudi Arabia began on January 20 and is ongoing,” the official told NBC News. “The government took a multitude of new measures on Friday. The President pointed out that the State Department will provide further details on Monday and clarify these announcements, not new announcements.”

Khashoggi, a 59-year-old American and a Washington Post columnist, was a critic of the Saudi royal family. He entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018 and never left.

Khashoggi was killed, his body was dismembered, and his remains were never recovered.

The White House has announced that it will review relations with Saudi Arabia, which were particularly close under former President Donald Trump. In a diplomatic reprimand to the Crown Prince this week, the White House made it clear that Biden does not see 35-year-old bin Salman as his counterpart and will instead have relationships through his aging father, King Salman.

Bin Salman has been the public face of the kingdom since he became Crown Prince in 2017.

– CNBC’s Spencer Kimball contributed to this report

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Politics

Saudi fund susceptible after MBS actions in Khashoggi killing, ex-Obama official says

Saudi fund vulnerable after MBS actions in Khashoggi killing, ex-Obama official says

According to a former senior diplomat in the Obama administration, the actions of the Saudi crown prince in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi may have exposed the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund to repercussions.

The government of Biden released a previously classified intelligence report on Friday in which Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia approved the plan to assassinate Khashoggi in 2018.

The Saudi sovereign wealth fund, known as the Public Investment Fund, is managed by MBS. It appears to have played a role in the purchase of the plane that took Khashoggi’s murderer to Turkey, where the murder took place.

“If so, it could become a target for US human rights sanctions,” said Joel Rubin, former deputy assistant secretary of state. That, in turn, could “cause an economic earthquake,” he said.

“If the United States determines that Khashoggi’s murder was a targeted human rights violation, the perpetrators and supporters of that murder could be sanctioned under the Magnitsky Act,” said Rubin.

The Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act gives the President the power to impose economic sanctions, freeze U.S. assets, and refuse entry to the U.S. for foreigners who have committed human rights abuses or corruption, while Americans are prohibited from doing business with him or her . Magnitsky Law was used against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s cronies. Putin called it “a purely political, unfriendly act.”

Shortly after the secret service report was published on Friday, Foreign Minister Antony Blinken announced that the US had banned 76 people from Saudi Arabia. He called it the “Khashoggi Ban”. Blinken added that the US will not tolerate anyone who threatens or assaults activists, dissidents and journalists on behalf of foreign governments. However, no direct action has been taken against MBS.

The Saudi government rejected the results of the US report.

SWFs are widespread in oil-rich countries. They provide a haven where countries can store considerable wealth and keep that money in a self-controlled suitcase.

Funds such as the MBS-led Public Investment Fund help protect countries from oil price shocks that affect their annual budgetary positions while also making the country resilient to external financial pressures. The Public Investment Fund has assets of more than $ 360 billion and is the eighth largest sovereign wealth fund in the world by total assets.

“The Saudi fund, almost five decades old, is massive and guarantees the kingdom long-term financial stability,” said Rubin. “But it can also be a target for abuse, mismanagement and corruption.”

In 2018, NBC News learned that the CIA concluded that MBS was commanding the hit squad who lured Khashoggi to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, killed him and cut his body into pieces.

MBS is the heir to the Saudi crown. Rubin told CNBC that his domestic critics will see the public investment fund’s exposure to potential sanctions as another sign of his ruthlessness and willingness to both risk Saudi assets and put the country in international crosshairs for his personal agenda.

“The international private sector, which initially avoided Saudi Arabia after the assassination of Khashoggi, will see this as another setback for public relations work in engagements with Saudi Arabia,” said Rubin. “It could also open the fund to increased controls, lawsuits and legislative action against the fund’s activities from both overseas and Saudi Arabia.”

Michael O’Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, told CNBC’s The News with Shepard Smith that President Joe Biden would not make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” as it would mean US economic and military ties to interrupt the Saudis.

Even so, Biden said in 2019, “We wanted to actually get them to pay the price and actually make them the pariah for who they are.”

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Crushing Dissent: The Saudi Kill Workforce Behind Khashoggi’s Dying

Crushing Dissent: The Saudi Kill Team Behind Khashoggi’s Death

WASHINGTON – Seven Saudis who were involved in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi were part of an elite unit tasked with protecting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This emerges from a released report on the attack published on Friday. The New York Times has linked the group with a brutal campaign to suppress disagreements at home and abroad, citing interviews with American officials who read intelligence reports on the campaign.

The role of activists from the so-called Rapid Intervention Force (RIF) in the assassination of Khashoggi helped bolster the case by American intelligence that Prince Mohammed approved the operation. “Members of the RIF would not have participated in the murder without the consent of the Crown Prince,” the report said.

The group “exists to defend the Crown Prince” and “only responds to him,” the report said, and on Friday the Treasury Department appointed the Rapid Intervention Force for economic sanctions for its role in the Khashoggi assassination.

Here’s something about what is known about the device:

The assassination of Mr Khashoggi was just one particularly monstrous operation that included members of the group. The Rapid Intervention Force appears to have begun its violent campaign in 2017, the year Prince Mohammed pushed his elder rival aside to become heir to the Saudi throne.

According to American officials, the group has carried out dozens of operations both inside and outside the kingdom – including the forcible repatriation of Saudis from other Arab countries. The group also appears to have been involved in the detention and abuse of prominent women rights activists who campaigned for the kingdom’s driving ban on women to be lifted. One of them, Loujain al-Hathloul, was arrested in 2018 and only released this month.

Another of the women arrested by the group, a university professor, attempted suicide after being subjected to American torture in 2018 after being subjected to psychological torture. Some of the inmates were temporarily held in an opulent palace owned by Prince Mohammed and his father, King Salman.

The group was so busy that in June 2018 their field commander asked an advisor to Prince Mohammed whether the Rapid Intervention Force could receive rewards for Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, according to American officials Read the intelligence report mentioning the request.

The group was overseen by Saud al-Qahtani, one of the Crown Prince’s best aides, who served as media tsar for the royal court. One of Mr. al-Qahtani’s jobs was to manage the kingdom’s “troll farms” – organizations that used legions of online bots and avatars to stifle the voices of prominent critics like Mr. Khashoggi. The intelligence report released on Friday referred to a quote from Mr. al-Qahtani in 2018 that he “did not make any decisions without the consent of the Crown Prince”.

American officials said the Rapid Intervention Force field commander was Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, an intelligence officer who often traveled overseas with Prince Mohammed. Another member of the team, Thaar Ghaleb al-Harbi, was a member of the Saudi Royal Guard, who was promoted for valor in an attack on one of Prince Mohammed’s palaces in 2017.

In the released report on Friday, all three men were named as part of a group of 21 people who “participated in, ordered, or otherwise complicit in, or were responsible for the death of Jamal Khashoggi on behalf of the Crown Prince.”

The Saudi government has long denied that Prince Mohammed played a role in the assassination of Mr Khashoggi and has brought eight men to justice. The government never published the names of the defendants.

In September, a Saudi court announced that five of the men had been sentenced to 20 years in prison and three others had fewer sentences. Some of the accused had originally received death sentences, but those were overturned after one of Mr Khashoggi’s sons said publicly that he and his siblings pardoned the men who killed their father.

It was unclear whether members of the Rapid Intervention Force were tried or convicted, but Mr al-Qahtani was publicly exonerated by the Saudi government because prosecutors said there was not enough evidence to back him up in the murder of Mr Khashoggi Court.

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Politics

U.S. intel says Saudi crown prince authorised killing of Jamal Khashoggi

U.S. intel says Saudi crown prince approved killing of Jamal Khashoggi

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation to arrest or kill journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. This emerges from a US intelligence report that could have far-reaching implications for US-Saudi Arabia relations.

The report released on Friday by the Office of the Director of the National Intelligence Service mentioned the Crown Prince’s control over decision-making in Saudi Arabia, as well as the involvement of a key advisor and members of his protection department in the operation in which Khashoggi was killed.

“Since 2017, the Crown Prince has had absolute control over the kingdom’s security and intelligence organizations, so it is highly unlikely that Saudi officials would have carried out an operation of this type without the Crown Prince’s approval,” the report said.

The CIA-led assessment that had so far been classified comes from President Joe Biden, who aims to reshape US relations with Saudi Arabia after years of the Trump administration’s condemnation of the kingdom’s human rights abuses despite condemnation in Congress and ignored at the United Nations.

Khashoggi, a 59-year-old U.S. citizen and Washington Post employee who criticized the Saudi royal family, entered a Saudi consulate in Turkey on October 2, 2018 and never left the country. He was killed by a group of assassins who then dismembered his body. His remains were never recovered.

“The Crown Prince viewed Khashoggi as a threat to the kingdom and largely supported the use of violent measures to silence him,” the US intelligence report said. “Although Saudi officials planned an unspecified operation against Khashoggi in advance, we don’t know how far in advance Saudi officials decided to harm him.”

In a diplomatic reprimand to the Crown Prince this week, the White House made it clear that Biden does not see 35-year-old bin Salman as his counterpart and will instead have relationships through his aging father, King Salman. The younger bin Salman has been the public face of the kingdom since he became crown prince in 2017.

Robert Mahoney, Deputy Executive Director of the Committee for the Protection of Journalists, speaks during a press conference to appeal to the United Nations on the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the United Nations in New York, United States on October 18, 2018.

Shannon Stapleton | Reuters

“Regarding Saudi Arabia, I would say that we made it clear from the start that we would recalibrate our relationship with Saudi Arabia,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday from the White House.

On Thursday, in his first conversation with the 85-year-old King, Biden reiterated “the importance the United States attaches to universal human rights and the rule of law,” according to a White House ad.

Biden also told Salman that he “will work to make bilateral relations as strong and transparent as possible,” the White House said. Khashoggi’s name was not mentioned in the advertisement.

The chairman of the Intel Committee of the House of Representatives, Rep. Adam Schiff, called on the White House to impose “serious repercussions on those responsible for Khashoggi’s assassination” and to reassess US relations with Saudi Arabia in the course of the intelligence service Report.

“We need to make sure that foreign governments targeting journalists just for their jobs are not immune from severe repercussions and sanctions, because to restore confidence in American leadership we must act in accordance with the values ​​that America sets.” for a long time, “said the Californian Democrat.

“The government should take further steps to reduce the United States’ dependence on Riyadh and reaffirm that our partnership with the Kingdom is not a blank check,” added Schiff.

The Saudi authorities initially denied any knowledge of Khashoggi’s death and later claimed that the journalist was involved in a fight at the consulate and died in the clash. The Saudi authorities eventually admitted that Khashoggi was killed in a “rogue operation” while denying bin Salman was involved.

A United Nations investigator concluded in a June 2019 report that Khashoggi was “the victim of a premeditated, premeditated execution, an extrajudicial killing for which the state of Saudi Arabia is responsible under international human rights law.”

Trump publicly tried to cast doubts about the Crown Prince’s involvement in Khashoggi’s death, even after multiple outlets reported that the CIA bin Salman itself had concluded that the journalist had been killed. Trump said the CIA had “nothing in particular” while claiming the oil-rich kingdom would remain a “steadfast partner” with the US

“It could very well be that the Crown Prince was aware of this tragic event – maybe he did it and maybe he didn’t!” Trump said less than two months after Khashoggi’s death. Trump’s conciliatory stance contrasted sharply with outrage from members of Congress and the media over the Khashoggi assassination.

The Trump administration maintained relationships through the Crown Prince, who maintained close personal relationships with members of the Trump family, particularly Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of former President Donald Trump.

Trump made Saudi Arabia his first stop in the Middle East when he made his debut in the region in 2017. The kingdom rolled out the red carpet for the former reality star.

The Trump administration used its ties with the Gulf monarchies to normalize relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

The former president also vetoed attempts by Congress to block billions in arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and an attempt to end US involvement in the war in Yemen.

Biden’s review of relations with Saudi Arabia is part of a broader US foreign policy shift in the Middle East.
The president has ended US support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen and is trying to return to the negotiating table with Iran, Riyadh’s enemy, through its nuclear program.

The US president called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, his first conversation with a Middle Eastern leader since taking office. The Saudis and Israelis are de facto allies, although they do not have formal diplomatic ties to counter Iranian influence in the region.

Biden “discussed regional security” in his appeal Thursday with King Salman, referring to his government’s efforts to end the war in Yemen “and the US commitment to help Saudi Arabia defend its territory since it did Exposed to attacks by Iranian-centric groups, “the White House ad said.

Biden and Salman “also affirmed the historical nature of the relationship and agreed to work together on issues of mutual interest and concern,” according to the White House.

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Politics

Biden stresses human rights in name with Saudi king

Biden stresses human rights in call with Saudi king

Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia

Bandar Algaloud | Saudi Royal Council | Handout | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

President Joe Biden made his first call to Saudi King Salman on Thursday, underscoring human rights and diplomatic efforts to end the war in Yemen as the White House reviews relations with the oil-rich kingdom.

Noting the recent release from prison of women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul and several Saudi activists, Biden “reiterated the importance the United States attaches to universal human rights and the rule of law,” as if from one of the White House.

Biden’s discussion with Salman comes as Washington and Riyadh prepare to publish a US intelligence review alleging that the king’s son, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is implicated in the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and Saudi citizen who worked as a columnist for the Washington Post, was killed and his body dismembered in October 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Riyadh initially denied any involvement in the murder, but later blamed Khashoggi’s death for a rogue operation.

State Secretary Antony Blinken also spoke to Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saudi on Thursday, highlighting the importance of Saudi progress on human rights.

The Biden administration’s decision to release the intelligence service’s assessment of who was responsible for Khashoggi’s murder, which the Trump administration opposed, signals a shift in US-Saudi Arabia relations.

The White House has already downgraded relationships with 35-year-old bin Salman, who has been the public face of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since his appointment as Crown Prince in 2017. The government has made it clear that Biden sees the aging King Salman as his counterpart and will conduct relationships through him.

Bin Salman had access to high-level U.S. officials during the Trump administration through his personal relationships with members of President Donald Trump’s family, particularly Jared Kushner.

The White House is conducting a major review of US relations with Saudi Arabia, which has traditionally been close but has been subjected to heightened scrutiny by Congress and international scrutiny following Khashoggi’s assassination and the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Yemen.

In his first foreign policy address, Biden announced the end of US support for the Saudi Arabia-led war in Yemen, which also includes the cessation of arms sales. He has also tried to bring Iran, Saudi Arabia’s greatest adversary in the Middle East, back to the negotiating table on its nuclear program.

Biden also discussed the US’s “commitment to assist Saudi Arabia in defending its territory when exposed to attacks from Iranian-oriented groups”. Houthi rebels in Yemen have launched rocket attacks against Saudi Arabia. Washington and Riyadh accuse Iran of supporting the Houthis.

Saudi Arabia cut half of its oil production in September 2019 after a series of drone attacks on its crude oil facilities. The Houthis took responsibility for these attacks. Riyadh blamed Iran, which denied any involvement.