Saudi FM Holds Call with South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation – Asharq Al-Awsat | Explore World News Today

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah received a phone call from Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa Ronald Lamola, the Saudi Press Agency said on Sunday.
During the call, the two officials discussed the latest developments in the region and the international efforts being made in this regard.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud sent on Monday a cable of condolences Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the death of several members of the armed forces after a helicopter crashed during routine duty.
The helicopter suffered a malfunction and crashed in Qatar’s territorial waters on Sunday.
King Salman extended his deepest condolences to Sheikh Tamim and the families of the victims.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, sent Sheikh Tamim a similar cable.
Qatar on Sunday confirmed four of its military personnel and three Turkish nationals, including one serviceman, were killed on board the helicopter.
The interior ministry said in a statement rescue operations had been completed and a final seventh individual was confirmed dead.
Qatar’s defense ministry named the victims as Captain Mubarak Salem Daway al-Marri, Sergeant Fahad Hadi Ghanem al-Khayarin, Corporal Mohammed Maher Mohammed and Captain Saeed Nasser Sameekh from the Qatari armed forces.
The ministry also identified Major Sinan Tastekin from the Qatar-Türkiye Joint Forces and two Turkish civilians, Suleiman Cemra Kahraman and Ismail Anas, as having been killed in the crash.
Saudi defenses downed on Monday a ballistic missile in the Riyadh region and seven drones in the northern and eastern border regions.
Defense Ministry spokesman Turki al-Malki said defenses destroyed six drones in the Eastern Region and one on the Northern Borders.
Two ballistic missiles were detected flying toward Riyadh; one was intercepted and the other fell in an uninhabited area.
The civil defense had earlier on Monday launched alarms in the al-Kharj region, 80 kms southeast of Riyadh, to warn of danger. The alarm was lifted minutes later.
On Sunday, defenses destroyed 23 drones fired at the Eastern Region. They detected three ballistic missiles fired at Riyadh; one was intercepted and the others fell in uninhabited areas.
Air defense forces in the Gulf states thwarted a new wave of Iranian strikes on their territories, intercepting ballistic missiles and drones targeting residential areas and vital infrastructure.
The Saudi defenses downed 11 drones over the Eastern Province and tracked three ballistic missiles targeting Riyadh, intercepting one of them while the others fell harmlessly in an uninhabited area.
In Qatar, a helicopter crash caused by a technical fault killed seven people, three Qataris and four Turks, during a mission in territorial waters.
In the UAE, the country’s defenses intercepted four ballistic missiles and 25 drones. While Bahrain intercepted two Iranian missiles and two drones.
Kuwait’s Civil Aviation Authority filed an official complaint with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), condemning Iran’s violations and breaches of the country’s sovereignty.
Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, rejected Iran’s hostile actions, describing them as a blatant violation of international law and norms. He added that Iranian claims seeking to hold GCC member states responsible for any military operations are “unfounded and categorically rejected”.
انشئ حساباً خاصاً بك لتحصل على أخبار مخصصة لك ولتتمتع بخاصية حفظ المقالات وتتلقى نشراتنا البريدية المتنوعة

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