WASHINGTON: The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has lauded the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) support during Wednesday’s firing outside the US Consulate General in Jeddah, Arab media reported on Friday.
US-KSA ties
According to media reports, Antony Blinken spoke with Saudi Minister for Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan and lauded Riyadh’s support after the recent incident in Jeddah. During his call with his Saudi counterpart, the US Secretary of State also thanked Saudi Foreign Minister for his country’s continued support for US’s diplomatic missions.
Earlier, a person stopped his vehicle near the US Consulate General in Jeddah and got out carrying a weapon. Saudi security personnel “took the step to deal with the armed man as required by the circumstances,” the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Wednesday.
A firing between the attacker and the security personnel resulted in the armed man’s death. A Nepalese worker at the US Consulate was also injured during the exchange of fire and subsequently died. According to Arab media probe is underway to ascertain the motive behind the incident.