Saudi Arabia warned yesterday it would retaliate against any sanctions imposed on the oil-rich kingdom over the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as the Riyadh stock market plunged on growing investor jitters.
From tech tycoons to media giants, a host of Western companies are now distancing themselves from the Gulf state, imperilling Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s much-hyped economic reform drive.
United States President Donald Trump threatened ally Saudi Arabia at the weekend with “severe punishment” if Khashoggi, who has been critical of Prince Mohammed, was killed inside its Istanbul mission. But Riyadh vowed to hit back against any punitive measures.
“The kingdom affirms its total rejection of any threats or attempts to undermine it whether through threats to impose economic sanctions or the use of political pressure,” an official source said, quoted by state news agency SPA.
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He said Riyadh would “respond to any action with a bigger one”, pointing out that the oil superpower “plays an effective and vital role in the world economy”. According to Saudi-owned Al Arabiya, the kingdom has “over 30 measures” that it could implement to combat sanctions.
These measures include using sales of oil and arms, exchange of information between Riyadh and Washington, and a possible reconciliation with regional arch-rival Iran, said the report.
As investors took fright, Saudi stocks tumbled by around seven percent at one point yesterday, wiping out their gains for 2018.
Business barons including British billionaire Richard Branson and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, as well as media powerhouses like Bloomberg and CNN, have pulled out of next week’s Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh, dubbed “Davos in the desert”.
Meanwhile, Britain and the US are considering boycotting a major international conference in Saudi Arabia after the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the BBC has learned.
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Diplomatic sources have now told the BBC’s James Landale both the US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and UK International Trade Secretary Liam Fox might not attend the event, which is being hosted by the kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman to promote his reform agenda.
A spokesman for the UK’s international trade department said Dr Fox’s diary was not yet finalised for the week of the conference. A joint statement of condemnation, if it is confirmed that Mr Khashoggi was killed by Saudi agents, is also being discussed by US and European diplomats.
