there's rarely connection with saudi arabia of course i think is really more hurtful to saudi arabia than it thinks because in public or in the public opinion in the region people recognize israel as an apartheid state that has kept palestinians basically in concentration camps in gaza and the which is treating them as has subhuman and any the close of the relationship gets the more unpopular the saudi regime becomes but i'd like to also point out a couple of other things about what's going on in saudi arabia and why i think that . this is very dangerous for the stability of the regime itself the be the erratic behavior is not only with regards to its sudden arrests of all these influential people and it's not just the war where they're slaughtering hundreds of thousands of people due to disease and starvation although the western media for two years has been saying ten thousand people have been killed they don't want to tell the real numbers but then we see what he did in the tatar and outrageous behavior that the saudis showed towards that heavy people and they still they tried to

the chief is in saudi arabia and the chief of yemeni is in saudi arabia. [inaudible] so that is the best way to end the war, is for saudi arabia to reach out to all yemenis, not favor one side against the other. just like how king faisal did. that's exactly what king faisal did in 1965. >> the next question, explain the dynamics of the royal family. with its cohesion be threatened when king salman passes away? >> well, i think there's only one person who probably knows the answer to that question, that's the king himself. i mean, we have a lot of speculation clearly, and every time there are said to be an imminent abdication, it hasn't come to pass. one can read whatever they want is a more domestic pushback than back been anticipated? i guess we don't know. in terms of family dynamics, my concern perhaps is solman has for a long time in the past perform the goal of almost like chief whip of the family. he sort of kept, he was instrumental in maintaining family discipline, and he was not just feared but also respected for that. it looks as if the lease to

in saudi arabia.ach. that will not work for a country as big as saudi arabia. it would work for a small country, a city—state like dubai, doha or abu dhabi but not saudi arabia. also, it is not based onjobs. saudi arabians are addicted to foreign labour. we need to resolve the culture ofjobs and saudis will go back to work. there are 4 million saudis who are not in jobs today, not 2 million as the government suggests. the actual number is 4 million. every year, 250,000 young saudis go to the job market. that is his biggest task and he should spend more time on this problem rather than building a new city in saudi arabia. but you said the young people appear to be overwhelmingly with him and one reason is notjust because he talks about this new economic proposition but he also talks the language of fundamental social change, not least for women in saudi arabia. he has decreed that all women will be able to drive legally come the summer of 2018. he is giving them places on the consultative shura council

so it is good for saudi arabia to do that. >> do think the kingdom of saudi arabia has exaggerated or given too much credit to the hoses. the part of the around saudi competition or is that threat genuine? >> the disease have swept out of their strongholds taken -- by september 2014. by the time he came to power the president was imprisoned temporarily in the government fell the same night that he came to power. clearly the newsies had the line of convenience with the former president who had >> it's gigantic. returned to get involved against the ran into syria he needs to get the consensus and understanding from congress to do such a thing. so, he should know whatever kushner trump promise, they cannot deliver. we need to spend some time about this. how is that the stabilizing, we should speak in one voice so that we will send the wrong message to a leader like, listening to trump and tillerson and assuming there is a difference between them. basically they can look at the measure in saudi arabia because they're the only ones who have a leverage in saudi arabia today. >> i think the

not just in saudi arabia. his career -- in and our friendship goes back more than 25 years -- he served as core -- foreign correspondent in different countries in the region, including algeria, sudan,, kuwait and the and reported on all these developments during that period in the region and became a expert, particularly in islam is an in the region. islamism. , particularly when the prince was the ambassador during that period. he has always been also a allentator on the media in of these languages and many networks aside from the saudi workedt he directed and at, that includes channels like bbc, nbc, dubai tv and many others. our next speaker, also a good isend, kristian ulrichsen the middle east fellow at the baker institute for public policy at rice university and we are also delighted that he chose to make the trip from houston last night to be with us today. kristian is working at the baker institute across disciplines of political science, international relations, international political economy. -- if

tween saudi arabia. and a warm welcome also goes to show the rosanna's from t w two why she's both a producer and an analyst shani can bring us the israeli perspective on things and she says in its ongoing struggle against iran it's not saudi arabia that israel is looking to. russia. for ok i'd like to begin with you if i might and of course the tensions between iran and saudi arabia go back a very very long way but why is this cold war now heating up why now and there is. a kind of explanation for that i should also say it's not any kind of accord valar what we are seeing at the moment because cold war i think is of wards it's more than that is it really valar is approximately between both of them because you can also see in different parts of the rich in that country on think themselves against each other via you know i think there is two or three. issues help out understanding this for example we have done our trump in america. plays a major role in this confrontation in this live it because last year

in saudi arabia.voices, and they are not being heard. they are being told to be silent. they have signed things saying they will stay silent. the list of saudis banned from travel is growing every day. are you notjust feeling a little personally sour because you have run into problems with the regime because some of the things you have said on twitter in the past few months have irritated. and also yourformer boss, one few months have irritated. and also your former boss, one of the richest men in saudi arabia, prince walid,, he is also in detention as well, and you are seeing bad things with that. it is insulting to be told to be silent. i am it is insulting to be told to be silent. iam more it is insulting to be told to be silent. i am more worried than sour. iam silent. i am more worried than sour. i am worried for my country. i cannot retire in america happily in just the right unimportant issues and go on with my life. —— and just write. what is worrying me the most is one man rule. we need refor

is there in saudi arabia and the chief of the emknee group is in saudi arabia. i don't know about others. so that is best way to end the war is for saudi arabia to reach out to all emens. not one side against the other. that is exactly what happened in 1965. >> the next question is from les junka. explain dynamic of the royal family. willits cohesion be threatened when king salman passes away? >> i think there is only one person who probably in-laws the answer to that question. that's the king himself. we have the speculation clearly and every time there is said to be an imminent abdication it hasn't come to pass. one can read whatever one wants into that. a more dramatic push back than anticipated. i guess we don't know in terms of family dynamic. my consent perhaps is that salman has for a long time in the past performed the role of almost like the chief whip of the family. he sort of kept -- he was the instrument in maintaining family discipline. he was not only feared but also respected for that. it looks as if at least to some extent mohammed bin salman is

saudi arabia, next on great decisions. (enthusiastic music) - [announcer] great decisions is produced by the foreign policy association in association with thomson reuters. funding for great decisions is provided by pricewaterhousecoopers, llp. (soft arabian music) - [narrator] saudi arabia and the us are at odds culturally and ideologically yet for decades, they have been said to enjoy a special relationship based on shared interests. - on 1945, when the late king abdulaziz, the founder of modern saudi arabia met with the late president franklin roosevelt on an american destroyer called the quincy, there was a very strong strategic relationship that developed between the two countries. - there's lots of areas that we have to work together. we had times, have different views and different priorities and we have different values, we understand that but we share a common commitment to a more peaceful region and i think we can work with saudi arabia in order to accomplish that. - the special relationship about the united stat

it is a huge deal in saudi arabia.eter c.: what does, jamsheed, what do the iranians make of all this? the problem is the to --nce of saudi arabia which is a really big problem for iran. not only for iran, the whole region. balance.e, there is a why we don'teason have such a war between iran and saudi arabia until now. peter c.: explain again, what exactly is it that is breaking that balance. jamsheed: the ministry support of united states. because now they have a more active role in this game, and if salman hashammed bin said time is on our side. if we think about what that empty it is not only an trade in the direction towards iran. it is something inherent because they are going to show now the cards -- peter c.: reshuffled. jamsheed: yes. and we can also play another game. there is a new game. in this game, we are going to play a major role in this confrontation with iran. peter c.: shani, do the israelis view the crown prince in saudi arabia as somebody who is standing for renewal of his society? is he a modernize

an economic development in saudi arabia. they won't get their tea without fighting corruption but in the same time to house to beat that are transparent see in an in an article a lot in the washington post i question with that he is becoming president fourteen where he would just go that all the poet around him. wouldn't like that for saudi arabia i would like to see how well you know not what i'm hearing we have elections call me up when saudi arabia starts having elections and i'll be interested and by the way i do not have much near the political parties to what i'm hoping for right ok that may assure me that when i'm watching it with us. today it's we have donald trump treating them as has subhuman and any the close of the relationship yes the more unpopular the saudi regime becomes but i'd like to also point out a couple of other things about what's going on in saudi arabia and why i think that . this is very dangerous for the war where they're slaughtering hundreds of thousands of people due to disease and starvation a

is complicit in saudi war crimes in yemen today i believe that we are aiding saudi arabia in saudi arabia is committing war crimes i mean anybody that was a case under president obama as well i imagine that he was still committing war crimes but i don't think it was at the scale that it is today and i think the president i think of president obama were in office today and he saw a million people who had suffering from cholera and the saudis closing the ports closing the airport not allowing chlorine tablets to get into civilians that he would be outraged and he would put pressure on the saudis the saudis would say over the decades they have been a loyal friend to the u.s. they've helped provide stability in the region make sure the oil keeps flowing provide intel on terrorist groups invest in the u.s. economy and so the u.s. critics people like yourself are ungrateful unappreciative of that relationship well first of all fifteen of the terrorists who attacked us come from saudi arabia is one of the largest export hers of violence and non pluralism to the world there are ties between saudi

what role will the crown prince play in saudi arabia's future. mohammed been known to his friends i'm told as his close. yes what can you tell us about him as a as a person is about. well the first thing that striking is is he's very young is thirty two years old he always worked with his father the current king he was in his administration the current king was the governor before. the. crown prince now and yes and to refer to what was all this is person secretary. the boss of the administration so he traveled very much in the shadow of his father his father became king he became. became crown prince well we don't really know a lot of aside from that it's clear he has the financial means in about last year bought a five hundred million dollars yacht so he's doing quite well and. but i mean it's you can't underestimate what kind of a revolution he he started in saudi arabia to. fight back radical islam to take on the islamic establishment. clerics over. women allowed to drive our women allowed into sports stadiums and so on that it's a huge huge d

in saudi arabia.there is no serious competition or threat to him, even within the family. i wish i could go home but the environment is not welcoming to me or any other saudi writers, economists who are independent. all the people around him are yes—men and he wants that. he thinks he can do it alone. he thinks he is that, he thinks he's the leader the country has been waiting for so i willjust settle for my role to be here in washington and hopefully provide a loyal opposition. jamal khashoggi, we thank you for being on hardtalk. thank you very much. hello there. well, for most of us, sunday was a pretty glorious day. plenty of sunshine, but it was cold. windy as well, particularly down the east coast. plenty of showers here too. some of these will continue through the course of the night, again some of them on the heavy side, but become more confined to the north sea coast of england and elsewhere, turning much drier, and a much colder night to come than the previous night. a widespread frost develo

the united nations have condemned saudi arabia's blockade of yemen ass catastrophic and it along with international aid groups is calling on ria to lift its feel prices in yemen have increased more than sixty percent while cooking gas prices have doubled after saudi arabia cut all aid access to the country the u.n. humanitarian affairs spokesman says it's essential that access for aid be restored immediately donald trump has struck a more conciliatory note towards north korea during a visit to seoul u.s. president is on the second stop of his tour of asia and has met with south korea's president in trump said he's still open to negotiations with pyongyang i says it carried out an attack on a t.v. station in kabul which killed two people and injured at least twenty others gunmen stormed the station after an explosion in the capital kabul. outfit catalan president carlos reached him on pro independence parties to unite ahead of a midnight deadline to register for next month's election which the moment speaking to catalonia radio from brussels weighs in f.l. facts post exile there's a to

and i welcome to the program i'm jane dothan the erased in saudi arabia have spurred days of speculation and analysis there was the element of surprise the detentions took place on saturday night and without warning the elements of power most of those arrested are men of influence and an element of uncertainty is this about purging corruption or consolidating power the man behind it all drawn prince mohammed bin salma on has been a figure of controversy for months now he's regarded as a progressive leader touting social and economic reforms but critics say m.b.a.'s as he's known is also a power hungry over the course of two years he went from being third in line to the throne to first so what are those arrests all about the detained individual span a range of sectors in saudi society eleven princes and several ministers were taken into custody on saturday night inside a government says they're all implicated in corruption and the assets have been frozen prince all waleed bin talal is perhaps the most well known name on the list he's the richest man in the arab world with stakes in major

there are reports saudi arabia is demanding money from senior officials recently arrested crown prince mohammed bin salmond says it's an anti corruption operation but many say it's a way for him to increase his power so how far will he go this is inside story. we're . we're. hello there and welcome to the program i'm laura caro he's stoking huge tension in an already volatile region saudi arabia's thirty two year old crown prince mohammed bin solomon has made a number of controversial decisions that many believe could forever change the kingdom and the entire region the developments in saudi arabia and what they mean for the rest of the world has been the focus of a conference in london on saturday that's where former diplomats and middle east analysts have been meeting to discuss the crisis and saudi arabia's future might have been solomon or n.b.s. as he's known was appointed saudi arabia's as a throne just six months ago but in that short period he's amassed a lot of power earlier this month he ordered the arrest of around two hundred princes government officials and business been a

in the crisis the arab league is holding an extraordinary meeting in cairo at the request of saudi arabia to discuss iran's recent activities in the region iran is accused of being behind a missile launched from yemen which targeted riyadh as well as for an oil pipeline explosion in bahrain argentina's defense ministry says it has detected seven failed satellite calls from a missing submarine raising hopes that the forty four crew members on board will be found alive contact was lost with the san juan on wednesday as it was returning to its base in mile del plata from a routine mission in the south atlantic the search for the vessel has been hampered by stoolie weather. gerry adams the leader of the irish republican party she would fain has announced he'll step down after almost thirty five years he was a leading voice for sheehan fein and the westminster m.p. when his party was the political wing of the ira that's the irish republican army the paramilitary group force a guerrilla campaign against british control of northern ireland for almost forty years gerry adams played a central role

saudi arabia and when the enemy israel. wanted to stop the war in the last day the saudi officials called them to continue. with the war. this is the worst. however israel's israel has their own calculations how would they act i would tell you later. it is not the war simply pick it has other calculations. and i'm not. it is clear that saudi arabia and the saudi officials have declared war against lebanon and hezbollah however let me tell you this is a war against. the entire lebanon not hezbollah and i want to know and here i would like to address the lebanese the lebanese with absolute veracity and openness and passion. propose also stress. points. i made. the happenings around us. and the state of the car we have been enjoying shears until the said saturday last. month a state and institutions presidency prime ministership stability security financial economic instability. all these benefits of pressures today many of the regions peoples are biting they fold that grave and dire situations they are living we must realize

talking saudi arabia i'm joined by my guest martin j. in beirut he is a freelance broadcast journalist also in beirut we have. he is a political analyst and in washington we have joe he is a policy analyst at the arab center washington d.c. all right gentlemen crosstalk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want i always appreciate martin let me go to you first in beirut there are so many elements of. what's going on with this story domestically in saudi arabia and of course across the region particularly in lebanon which of course always includes iran. if you could for our audience because it's not getting a lot of air time because of domestic politics in the u.s. and the u.k. how would you sum up what's actually going on in saudi arabia and in the region go ahead martin. well the both there's a link between both of them i mean saudi arabia is basically getting ready for a new king to take the throne and now this been some of the new crown prince who has been installed in the position by israel and america is very insec

state department has called for transparency in saudi arabia's anticorruption drive dozens of prominent saudi businessmen and princes were detained over the weekend as part of an investigation led by crown prince mohammed bin sultan more news for you here on al-jazeera right after inside story next. some say he's in a rush to take power from his father others argue mohamed been so money is on a path to reform saudi arabia but what risks is the crown prince running and kenny meet the many challenges he faces both at home and in the region this is inside story. with. with. their welcome to the program i'm jane dothan the erased in saudi arabia have spurred days of speculation and analysis there was the element of surprise the detentions took place on saturday night and without warning the elements of power most of those arrested all men of influence and an element of uncertainty is this about purging corruption or consolidating power the man behind it all drawn prince mohammed bin saul mon has been a figure of controversy for months now he's regarded as a progressive leader touting social

just on your crew in the government of saudi arabia there has been a coup and saudi arabia tried to use the resignation of saad hariri to hide that tennille movements and thought the saudi government but the first headline is the resignation of saad hariri not incidents happening inside the government of saudi arabia so we believe that this is coordinated now he also said that iran's government has information to suggest that hardline political groups are taking over saudi affairs but he took the opportunity to reach out to the saudi government . we believe if there is cooperation between saudi arabia and iran it is beneficial for the rage and it could bring calm to the region but they rely on america they rely on israel they think that with american weapons they can be a power in the region this is a wrong theory the government before the revolution in iran the shah's regime with totally saving america but americans abandoned him during the islamic revolution so instead of relying on american powers and foreign powers pay attention to the countries of the bridge and finally hussein he

thinks that the current crisis in lebanon has been created artificially by saudi arabia. it's a gender to try and destabilize iran and to and to create some sort of tension in the region and these are the first steps ordering studies which is a somewhat of a futile gesture given that are hardly any saudis in eleven of the movements but there are a few kuwaitis or quite a few who are to tourists what's the link you might be ask yourself to lebanon will start hariri a lot of people don't know is also a saudi citizen spent most of his life in saudi arabia and is considered to be a sort of a saudi porn to put it bluntly so they've pulled mystery over back to saudi arabia in a sort of panic last week a couple of times basically forced him to resign as lebanese premier as part of a bigger longer term plan to try and destabilize lebanon to shake tire lebanon so as to make a point to hezbollah and to the region that there's a new there's a new guy in town a new leader in saudi arabia who's got a new agenda to play out well as martin mentioned saudi arabia reason happy with the st

live from berlin tonight at eleven on at the center of a deepening crisis in the middle east saudi arabia and kuwait are telling their citizens to leave lebanon immediately we'll ask a former u.s. ambassador to lebanon if he thinks these are the signs of a coming war also coming up tonight it will be the launch of famine the well to see in many decades millions of victims a stark warning from the you when about yemen after a saudi led alliance tightens its blockade on the war ravaged country and pomp and pageantry and a newfound partnership president wrong and president xi jinping their new chemistry but does this show of friendship as it masks a lack of progress on trade talks and north korea. i'm burnt off it's good to have you with us tonight kuwait and saudi arabia have told their citizens in lebanon to leave the country immediately and they are urging others not to travel there just announced the call on television followed by kuwait it comes amid a deepening crisis with lebanon caught up in a conflict between saudi arabia and iran lebanon's saudi backed prime minister saad hariri re

killings at the hands of lone gunman trump blamed the incident on mental health issues one of saudi arabia's princes has been killed in a helicopter crash near the border with yemen a number of saudi officials also died prince mansoul been in al saod was the son of the former crown prince madrid and believed to be a close ally of the current one hundred and salma these videos posted on his twitter page just hours before his death should have inspecting defense and environment projects iran and its ally the lebanon based group hizbollah have accused saudi arabia the u.s. and israel of trying to fuel tension in the middle east by pushing lebanon's prime minister to resign saad hariri announced that he was leaving his position on saturday while on a visit to saudi arabia there's the headlines more news for you on al-jazeera right after inside story next. germany is hosting this year's climate talks president from the united states out of the paris agreement what now for the global effort to tackle climate change in the finale some live reports from the climate conference in bonn and from the fr

from i call it led by saudi arabia in. a strikes or in. our image here man and this is for us something very important and for this reason we are asking from the government not to proceed being ve say lawful weapons to say would your ranbir and i actually respect the fact that this very specific government itself has already ratified the arms trade treaty in two thousand and sixteen in march two thousand and sixteen. with sexually demands requires from the government to. conduct an assessment of whether the sale of. the sale of weapons in particular countries may be used in order to violate international humanitarian law law and human rights so we get into more of the ethics of it peter i just want to. but you this question about greece's surplus weapons that it's trying to get rid of it seems quite a strain scenario can you explain a little bit more about the situation there well it seems that greece has passed the quietest attention about of ammunition or its tanks look lead a have never used that of course is this kind of evolution has

in the government of saudi arabia there has been a coup and saudi arabia tried to use the resignation of saad hariri to hide an eternal movements and thought the saudi government but the first headline is the resignation of saad hariri not incidents happening inside the government of saudi arabia so we believe that this is coordinated now he also said that iran's government has information to suggest that hardline political groups are taking over saudi affairs but he took the opportunity to reach out to the saudi government a lot and we believe if there is cooperation between saudi arabia and iran it is beneficial for the rage and it could bring calm to the region but they were alone america they rely on israel they think that with american weapons they can be a power in the region this is a wrong theory the government before the revolution in iran the shah's regime with totally saving america but americans abandoned him during the islamic revolution so instead of relying on american powers and foreign powers pay attention to the countries of the bridge and finally hussein he said tha

saudi arabia says its ad defense system has intercepted a long range ballistic missile fired from yemen. hello i'm maria minimize he and london you're watching out there also coming up deepening on certainty in lebanon after the prime minister resigns during a trip to saudi arabia criticizing iran and saying he fears for his life. russian air strikes and driving eisel from its last strip of land in syria killed six members of the same family. council colleagues bootable i'll be reporting on why political leadership there in mourning. now we saw this program with news that we've been covering from saudi arabia with the country's add a friend saying that it intercepted a missile at the king khalid international airport near the capital riyadh the rebels of at the same time claim to a fide long range ballistic missile that traveled five hundred kilometers over the border with saudi arabia a spokesman for the rebels told al jazeera that they launched a missile towards riyadh late on saturday but also in other developments a major shake up of saudi arabia's cabinet with the economy minister.

saudi arabia says its defense system has intercepted a long range ballistic missile fired from yemen. and though i'm watching al jazeera live from london also coming up deepening uncertainty in lebanon after the prime minister resigns during a trip to saudi arabia criticizing iran and saying he fears for his life. sucked collis bootable and i'll be reporting on why he drove his political leadership there in mourning. and more than a thousand people rally against the australian government's treatment of refugees mannus island. we begin with breaking news this hour from saudi arabia with the defense system with the defense ministry saying that it intercepted a missile at the airport which is thirty five kilometers northeast of riyadh hoofy rebels have also claim to a find a long range ballistic missile that traveled five hundred kilometers over the border with saudi arabia a spokesman for the rebels told al jazeera that they launched a missile towards riyadh late on saturday so following that story but also some other news emerging from the country of the saudi prince. has been released

this is the wus live from berlin a brewing conflict in the mideast saudi arabia's new crown prince is on a mission to boost the oil kingdom's prominence but could upsetting the delicate balance of follow pushed the entire region into conflict also coming out. standing shoulder to shoulder on the conflict in syria u.s. president donald trump and russian president vladimir putin reaffirmed their common commitment to ending the war and defeating the islamic state. no place to call home we need a family of kurdish refugees who have spent the past two years stranded in serbia failing in all their attempts so far to reach western europe. welcome to the program in the middle east tensions between saudi arabia and iran are on the rise the palestra go between the two rivals has now spilled over into lebanon whose prime minister saad how do you see unexpectedly resigned while on a visit to saudi arabia now lebanon's powerful has been the chief is accusing saudi arabia of detaining hariri and now the un and us are warning riyadh not to use the country as an arena for proxy conflict. kuwaiti citi

it's a major shake up in the top ranks of saudi arabia's government and ruling family between saturday night and sunday morning eleven saudi princes four sitting cabinet ministers and dozens of foreign ministers were arrested the dismissals are widely seen as consolidating the power of the crown prince mohammed bin selman. i still says it was responsible for an attack on a security headquarters in yemen's port city of aden at least fifteen people died and eighteen others were wounded in the explosion and the hallmarks are neighborhood ause account on lead a car has pushed him on to and four of his colleagues have turned themselves into the belgian police spain issued a european arrest warrant for them on friday over their role in catalonia as controversial secession referendum they face charges of rebellion sedition and misuse of public funds and a car bomb has killed at least one hundred civilians including children who were trying to escape the syrian city of daraa sore at least one hundred forty others were wounded in the attack which i still says it was responsible for government f

hezbollah is accusing saudi arabia of singing them. i hear sources out of saudi arabia that say he can walk out freely. we have battles in the news. it's quite odd for him to leave and then stay after he scheduled several meetings. on the other day, we don't really know what happening at the moment. i find it hard to imagine that the saudi's would attain him against his will unless there's something else involved. >> he has saudi and lebanese citizenship. >> business interests in saudi arabia, a big company which went sour this year. he needs to be build out, maybe he's expecting for the saudi stability not. he needs to give something in exchange. >> a sequence of events unfolding in saudi and the region. help us understand why he made a series of shock moves precisely at this time. was he trying to fend off something or somebody? >> i think he's preparing to take the throne, or the crown, i think he wants to become the next king very soon. he needs to go against rivals, but he's probably the first truly populist ruler of saudi arabia.

across talking saudi arabia i'm joined by my guest martin j. in beirut he is a freelance broadcast journalist also in beirut we have. he is a political analyst and in washington we have joe he is a policy analyst at the arab center washington d.c. all right gentlemen crosstalk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want i always appreciate martin let me go to you first in beirut there are so many elements of what's going on with the story domestically in saudi arabia and of course across the region particularly in lebanon which of course always includes iran. if you could for our audience because it's not getting a lot of air time because of domestic politics in the u.s. in the u.k. how would you sum up what's actually going on in saudi arabia and in the region go ahead martin. well suppose there's a link between both of them i mean saudi arabia is based.