Saudi threat to strike back
Saudi Arabia yesterday threatened to retaliate for any sanctions imposed against it after President Donald Trump said the oil-rich kingdom deserves ‘‘severe punishment’’ if it is responsible for the disappearance and suspected murder of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi.
The warning from the world’s top oil exporter came after a turbulent day on the Saudi stock exchange, which plunged as much as 7 per cent at one point.
The statement was issued as international concern grew over the writer who vanished on a visit to the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul over a week ago. American lawmakers threatened tough punitive action against the Saudis, and Germany, France and Britain jointly called for a ‘‘credible investigation’’ into Khashoggi’s disappearance.
Turkish officials have said they fear a Saudi hit team killed and dismembered Khashoggi, who wrote critically of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The kingdom has called such allegations ‘‘baseless’’ but has not offered any evidence Khashoggi ever left the consulate.
Already, international business leaders are pulling out of the kingdom’s upcoming investment forum, a high-profile event known as ‘‘Davos in the Desert,’’ and the sell-off on Riyadh’s Tadawul stock exchange showed that investors are uneasy.
The exchange dropped by over
500 points, then clawed back some of the losses, ending the day down
264 points, or more than 4 percent. Of 188 stocks traded on the exchange, 179 ended the day with a loss.
‘‘Something this big would definitely spook investors, and Saudi just opened up for foreign direct investment, so that was big,’’ said Issam Kassabieh, a financial analyst at Dubai-based firm Menacorp Finance.
In a statement published by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, the kingdom warned that if it ‘‘receives any action, it will respond with greater action, and that the kingdom’s economy has an influential and vital role in the global economy.’’
‘‘The kingdom affirms its total rejection of any threats and attempts to undermine it, whether by threatening to impose economic sanctions, using political pressures or repeating false accusations,’’ the statement said. –AP
‘‘Something this big would definitely spook investors, and Saudi just opened up for foreign direct investment, so that was big.’’
Issam Kassabieh, Menacorp Finance.