Saudi Prince Saud Al Faisal laughs off death rumours

Manama: A Saudi official has attributed the latest rumours about Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal’s death to the latest developments in the region.

The official, from the foreign ministry, said that the “frank and honest statements” made by Prince Saud Al Faisal on issues related to the crisis in Syria, the Iranian provocations and the situation in Bahrain were behind the rumours last week that the prince had died, Saudi Arabic daily Okaz reported on Saturday.

The report did not identify the official.

Osama Ahmad Nugali, the head of the media directorate at the foreign ministry, said that he used a telephone conversation to inform Prince Saud Al Faisal about the rumours of his death.

“He laughed and told me in his highly familiar modesty: ‘The news of my death should not be a huge story or exaggerated’,” the ministry official posted on his Twitter account.