Reema bint Bandar: Saudi-US Partnership Is Crucial for Global Security 

Saudi Ambassador to the US, Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud.
Saudi Ambassador to the US, Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud.
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Reema bint Bandar: Saudi-US Partnership Is Crucial for Global Security 

Saudi Ambassador to the US, Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud.
Saudi Ambassador to the US, Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud.

Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States said on Wednesday that maintaining the long-standing strategic partnership between Riyadh and Washington was "beyond critically necessary" for global stability. 

"Yes there was a moment of conflict and disagreement, but that doesn't take away from the fact that we are both strategic allies and we are friends, and this relationship is critical for the world," envoy Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud said at a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos. 

She stressed the importance of the US-Saudi relationship that has weathered 80 years and said that the two countries have "stood by each other where it counts and where it matters". 

Saudi finance minister Mohammed al-Jadaan, when asked during the same panel about the visit by China's president to the Kingdom in December, said both China and the United States were very important to Saudi Arabia. 

He said the Kingdom, the world's top oil exporter, aims to "bridge the divide" between the two rival economic giants. 



Gulf Airlines Cancel Flights after Israel Strikes Iran

Photo by WAM
Photo by WAM
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Gulf Airlines Cancel Flights after Israel Strikes Iran

Photo by WAM
Photo by WAM

Airlines in the Gulf have cancelled flights to many Middle East destinations as some governments closed their airspace following Israeli strikes on Iran.

Emirates, the Middle East's largest airline, said it had cancelled flights to and from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Iran after Israel launched the strikes.

Several flights scheduled for Friday and one Tehran flight on Saturday were listed as cancelled on the airline's website.

Qatar Airways, the country's national carrier and one of the Middle East's largest, said it had "temporarily cancelled flights to Iran and Iraq due to (the) current situation in the region".

UAE airports have warned of disruption, with Dubai posting on X that "some flights at @DXB and DWC - Al Maktoum International have been cancelled or delayed due to airspace closures over Iran, Iraq, and Syria".

Abu Dhabi airport warned "flight disruptions are expected through today (Friday)" as a result of the Israeli strikes.

Earlier Friday, Jordan and Iraq, which both lie between Israel and Iran, announced they had closed their airspace and grounded all flights after Israel's strikes.

Jordan's military said it intercepted drones and missiles that had violated the kingdom's airspace, after Iran vowed there would be "no limits" in its response to Israeli attacks.

Israel pounded Iran with a wave of strikes against military and nuclear industry targets, that killed the armed forces' chief of staff, the Revolutionary Guards chief and top nuclear scientists.

The Israeli military said Iran had launched about 100 drones in retaliation, which it was seeking to shoot down.