Saudi Crown Prince Warns of ‘Iran Threat’ to Global Oil

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince warned in an interview aired on Sunday (Sep 29) that crude prices could spike to “unimaginably high numbers” if the world does not come together to deter Iran, but said he would prefer a political solution to a military one.

Mohammed bin Salman said a war between Saudi Arabia and Iran would ruin the global economy, following an attack on its oil facilities two weeks ago which it blames on Tehran.

The United States, European powers and Saudi Arabia have blamed the attacks on Iran. Tehran has denied any involvement.

Speaking to CBS News, he also said he accepted some responsibility for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

he said: “I take full responsibility as a leader in Saudi Arabia, especially since it [the killing] was committed by individuals working for the Saudi government.”

However, he denied ordering the killing of Mr Khashoggi directly, or having knowledge of it at the time.

The prince, who is considered the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, is suspected of personally targeting Mr Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist critical of the government in Riyadh.

Mr Khashoggi was killed in Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Turkey on 2 October 2018.