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RIYADH. — Saudi Arabia has warned its citizens to ignore thousands of its diplomatic documents leaked by the transparency site WikiLeaks, which give a rare insight into the kingdom’s habit of buying influence and monitoring dissidents.
The 61 000 Saudi cables, the first tranche of 500 000 promised by Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, also show the country’s sharp focus on its strategic rival Iran and the revolution in Egypt, and support for allies and clients in Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and elsewhere in the Middle East.
But routine secret correspondence from the foreign ministry in Riyadh and embassies abroad, some from as recently as April this year, catalogues many of the preoccupations of the conservative monarchy, the world’s biggest oil exporter, especially during the turbulent period of the Arab spring from early 2011.
According to one document, Gulf states were prepared to pay $10billion to secure the release of the deposed Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, which appears to support a previous claim about this by a leading Muslim Brotherhood politician.
A 2012 cable reveals concern that Iran was receiving “flirting American messages” that suggested the US did not oppose a peaceful Iranian nuclear programme so long as it had guarantees, including from Russia. Others from that period show Saudi plans for an anti-Iran satellite TV channel to broadcast in Persian from Bahrain, and plans to disrupt Iranian channels. — Reuters/Associated Press.
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