The Saudi Arabian Spy Chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan al-Saud, has allegedly ridiculed the kingdomâ„¢s Persian Gulf neighbor Qatar, describing the country as Å“only 300 people and a television channel”.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported unnamed sources who claimed to have overheard the comment being made by the prince at a meeting to coordinate arms shipment to foreign-backed militants in Syria, last summer.
The “TV channel” in the offensive remarks is believed to have been reference to the Doha-based satellite network Al-Jazeera.
The report added that Å“Saudi officials declined to comment on the exchange”.
No official reaction has been issued by Doha, but Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid Al Attiyah shot back in a Twitter message, saying “one Qatari citizen is worth an entire people and the Qatari people are equal to an entire nation.”
“This is what we tell our sons, with all respect to the others,” he added.
The Saudi spy chiefâ„¢s remarks underlines rising tension between the two Persian Gulf states over which militant group to support in Syria.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that the Saudi spy chief is considered by the CIA as “a veteran of the diplomatic intrigues of Washington and the Arab world [who] could deliver what the CIA couldnâ„¢t: planeloads of money and arms, and…wasta, Arabic for under-the-table clout.”
Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
PG/HGH
Republished from: Press TV