Middle East

Jeddah, Jul 9: King Salman on Saturday vowed to punish those who dare to harm Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Press Agency reported. In phone calls to the relatives of the policemen who where killed in Qatif this week, the king said Saudi Arabia was firmly determined to face whoever dares to harm the stability and security of the nation and hold them accountable. On Saturday morning, a security patrol in

Muscat, Jul 8: The Central Bank of Oman ordered all local commercial banks and exchange companies to trade the Qatari riyal at the official exchange rate. "The Central Bank of Oman will also accept Qatari riyals and provide exchange services if needed," the statement said. The Qatari currency came under pressure as Gulf commercial banks began to hold off on dealing with Qatari banks because of the

Jeddah, Jul 7: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt have vowed to take 'political, economic and legal measures' after Qatar's refusal to accept a list of demands presented by the four countries. In a joint statement released late on Thursday, the Saudi-led group also blamed Qatar for "continuing to seek to sabotage and undermine the security and stability in the Gulf region".

Cairo, Jul 6: Four Arab states calling for combating terrorism vowed Wednesday to maintain their boycott of Qatar, criticizing its “negative” response to their list of demands to end the diplomatic crisis. Doha’s response, they said, was “not serious” and betrayed Qatar’s “failure” to realize the gravity of the situation. The announcement followed a meeting by foreign ministers from the four

Jeddah, Jul 5: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain have received Qatar’s response to their collective demands for restoring relations and that they “will respond to it in a timely manner,” the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said early Wednesday. The Saudi foreign ministry also said on Twitter that Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir received from Kuwaiti State Minister Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Sabah

Kuwait, Jul 4: Qatar has responded to a list of demands from Saudi Arabia-led Arab alliance, which gave Doha an extra 48 hours to decide, officials confirmed on Tuesday. The decision was made after Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani arrived in Kuwait late Monday, reports Xinhua news agency. The minister was carrying a handwritten letter from Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim

Kuwait, Jul 4: Qatar has delivered its response to a list of 13 demands from Saudi Arabia and three other Arab countries that cut have ties with it and imposed a land, air and sea embargo amid a major diplomatic crisis. Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar's foreign minister, was received by Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah on Monday to hand over a letter from Qatar's emir

Doha, Jul 3: Saudi Arabia and three allies boycotting Qatar have agreed to a request by Kuwait to extend by 48 hours Sunday's deadline for Doha to comply with a set of demands, according to a joint statement on Saudi state news agency SPA. Kuwait had received a response by Qatar to a list of 13 demands presented to it by a Saudi-led bloc of Arab countries, Kuwait's state news agency KUNA said on

Rome, Jul 2: Qatar's foreign minister has said Doha will not meet any of the 13 demands made by Saudi Arabia and its allies, offering instead "a proper condition for a dialogue" to resolve the Gulf crisis. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, speaking at the news conference in the Italian capital Rome on Saturday, said the list "was meant to be rejected", pointing to the fact that it arrived

London/Dubai, Jul 1: Several British banks said on Friday they had stopped dealing in Qatari riyals, as the diplomatic crisis surrounding the tiny Gulf country disrupted overseas trading of its currency. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic and travel links with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting terrorism and courting regional foe Iran, in