Saudi Arabia, Oman Stress Serious Cooperation to Tackle Iran’s Nuclear, Ballistic Missile Programs

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sees off Sultan Haitham at the airport before his departure from the Kingdom. (SPA)
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sees off Sultan Haitham at the airport before his departure from the Kingdom. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia, Oman Stress Serious Cooperation to Tackle Iran’s Nuclear, Ballistic Missile Programs

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sees off Sultan Haitham at the airport before his departure from the Kingdom. (SPA)
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sees off Sultan Haitham at the airport before his departure from the Kingdom. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia and Oman stressed on Monday the importance of good neighborliness and respect of international resolutions to avoid destabilizing the region.

They also underscored the need for cooperation and seriously tackling the Iranian nuclear file, as well as its ballistic missile program, read a statement at the conclusion of a visit by Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq to the Kingdom.

The two neighbors stressed support to Saudi Arabia’s initiative to resolve the conflict in Yemen and ease the suffering of its people. Both sides exchanged similar views over the need to maintain efforts to reach a political solution to the crisis.

Riyadh and Muscat agreed to coordinate stances to serve the interests of their countries and bolster stability. They welcomed the participation of Saudi companies in sophisticated projects in Oman and highlighted the opportunities in investment, innovation and energy projects.

They agreed to bolster cooperation in food and environment security. They stressed their determination to increase their economic cooperation and ordered the concerned authorities to speed up the reopening of the land border between the Kingdom and Sultanate to facilitate the flow of goods and travelers.

Sultan Haitham had arrived in the Kingdom on Sunday on a two-day official visit. It was his first since ascending the throne last year.

He held talks with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz in Neom. The meeting was attended by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.

Discussions focused on bolstering cooperation in all fields. They hailed progress that has been achieved in cooperation and coordination in the political, military and security fields in a manner that ensures each country’s stability.

King Salman and Sultan Haitham welcomed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding over the establishment of a Saudi-Omani coordination council. The council will be headed by the foreign ministers of both countries and will aim to boost bilateral relations in all fields.

They praised the efforts of the OPEC+ group, led by the Kingdom and with Oman’s participation, that have led to the stabilization and balance of the oil markets in spite of the weak demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic. They underscored the need to continue cooperation to further support the stability of the markets.

They agreed to order the concerned parties to carry out studies to explore investment opportunities between their countries in various fields, including innovation, energy projects, renewable energy and industry, health, information technology, petrochemicals, supply chains and others.

King Salman and Sultan Haitham also tackled regional and international issues of interest. They stressed the need to coordinate stances to serve their interests and support regional and international security and stability.

On Yemen, they agreed to continue their efforts to reach a solution to the conflict based on the Gulf initiative, national dialogue outcomes, United Nations Security Council resolution 2216 and the Saudi initiative.

On Iran, they underlined the importance of cooperation and serious and effective handling of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs to achieve regional and international security and stability. They stressed the principle of good neighborliness and respect of UN and international resolutions to spare the region from all destabilizing activities in the region.

Sultan Haitham invited King Salman to visit “his second home”, Oman. At the end of his trip, he expressed his deep gratitude to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed for the warm reception accorded to him and his accompanying delegation.



Saudi, Bahraini FMs Discuss Regional Developments

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah
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Saudi, Bahraini FMs Discuss Regional Developments

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah received a phone call from his Bahraini counterpart, Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported Tuesday.

During the call, the two sides discussed the latest developments in the region, and the continuation of bilateral coordination and consultation to promote security and stability, SPA said.


Bahrain Sentences 12 to Prison for Supporting Iran’s ‘Terrorist’ Acts

A view of Bahrain's financial district in the capital city of Manama. (Reuters file)
A view of Bahrain's financial district in the capital city of Manama. (Reuters file)
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Bahrain Sentences 12 to Prison for Supporting Iran’s ‘Terrorist’ Acts

A view of Bahrain's financial district in the capital city of Manama. (Reuters file)
A view of Bahrain's financial district in the capital city of Manama. (Reuters file)

Bahrain’s High Criminal Court sentenced on Monday 12 people to ten years in jail for “supporting and endorsing Iran's terrorist attacks against the kingdom”.

They were also accused of “obtaining and disseminating prohibited sensitive data, capturing images of restricted sites, and spreading false news and rumors through social media platforms during the Iranian aggression against the kingdom,” reported Bahrain’s state news agency BNA.

The court also imposed fines of BD2,000 on some of the accused and ordered the confiscation of seized materials.

“The Public Prosecution had received several reports from the Cyber Crime Directorate regarding social media accounts containing images, videos and comments expressing support for the Iranian terrorist attacks targeting Bahrain”, added the report.

The content also included the publication of sensitive data, the capturing images of restricted sites, and the dissemination of false news and rumors “intended to undermine public morale, spread panic among the public, and harm public security during the Iranian aggression against the kingdom”.

Investigations led to the identification of the individuals behind the accounts. Upon receiving the reports, the Public Prosecution immediately launched investigations, questioning the defendants, hearing witness testimony, and assigning technical experts to examine the seized digital devices. The examinations confirmed the defendants' involvement in the offences attributed to them.

Accordingly, the Public Prosecution referred the defendants to the High Criminal Court. The cases were heard over several sessions during which all legal guarantees were observed, including the attendance of defense counsel and the defendants' right to present their defense, culminating in the issuance of Monday’s rulings.


Kuwait Court Sentences Former Interior Minister to 3 Years in Prison

Former Interior Minister Sheikh Talal Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. (KUNA)
Former Interior Minister Sheikh Talal Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. (KUNA)
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Kuwait Court Sentences Former Interior Minister to 3 Years in Prison

Former Interior Minister Sheikh Talal Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. (KUNA)
Former Interior Minister Sheikh Talal Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. (KUNA)

Kuwait's Court of Cassation on Monday sentenced former Minister Sheikh Talal Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to three years in prison.

The court also fined him 3,000 dinars ($9,700) after convicting him of incidents related to secret expenditures.

Sheikh Talal Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, 59, served as First Deputy Prime Minister and former Minister of Interior from October 16, 2022, to January 17, 2024. Prior to that, he held the position of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense from March 9, 2022, to October 16, 2022.

On January 14, 2025, Kuwait's Ministers Court sentenced Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled to 14 years in prison for embezzlement of expenditures from both the Ministries of Defense and Interior, ordering him to return around 10 million dinars and fining him 20 million dinars.

In the first case, concerning Ministry of Defense expenditures, Sheikh Talal was sentenced to seven years in jail, ordered to return 500,000 dinars, fined one million dinars, and dismissed from his post. An expatriate that was also charged with him, was sentenced to four years, fined 294,000 dinars and expelled from Kuwait.

In the second case, related to Ministry of Interior expenditures, Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled was sentenced to seven years in prison, ordered to return 9 million dinars, and fined 19 million dinars.