Alwaght- Saudi Crown Prince was awarded a medal by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for his cooperation on intelligence gathering operations.
During a special ceremony in Riyadh, prince Mohammed bin Nayef was rewarded a “George Tenet Medal” for his "intelligence work" with the agency allegedly on fighting terrorism.
CIA Director Micheal Pompeo personally handed over the medal to prince Nayef, who is first deputy prime minister and minister of interior.
Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense, and several other senior Saudi officials were also in attendance.
In a statement after receiving the medal, Nayef said he appreciated the CIA honor and framed it as recognition of what he called Saudi Arabia’s anti-terrorism efforts under the directives of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
This is while Saudi Arabia, where Wahhabism is widely preached and practiced, stands accused of supporting terrorist groups fighting the Syrian government since 2011.
ISIS and other terror groups use the extremist ideology to declare people of other faiths as “infidels” and thus to kill them.
In his statement, Nayef underlined the importance of the “strong and historic” US-Saudi ties, saying the two sides would not allow anything or anyone to come between the allies.
Relations between Washington and Riyadh strained last year over congressional legislation seeking to make it easier for families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia.
Fifteen of the 19 hijackers who allegedly carried out the 11 September 2001 attacks came from Saudi Arabia and available evidence suggests some of them were linked to high-ranking Saudi officials.
