Partners in progress: King Salman, Obama to continue strategic ties

January 28, 2015

Riyadh, Jan 28: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and US President Barack Obama pledged to work closely on a range of regional and international issues at a meeting on Tuesday, including terrorism, the Iranian nuclear talks and conflicts in neighboring states.

In their first formal meeting, the talks focused broadly on counter-terrorism and regional stability with special reference to bilateral Saudi-US relations. Obama’s meeting with King Salman comes just days after the death of King Abdullah, who was buried on Friday.

The White House said the main reason for Obama’s trip was to pay his respects to the country that has been a key ally in the region. Obama had arrived with his wife Michelle, accompanied by a delegation of about 30 members. During his four-hour stop in Riyadh, Obama also attended a dinner with Saudi officials at Erga Palace.

A member of the delegation said the trip was an opportunity to “pay respects to the legacy of King Abdullah, who was a close partner of the US, and also discuss some of the issues where we are working together, which include Islamic State, Yemen, the Iranian nuclear negotiations and the broader US-Saudi relationship.”

According to a Royal Court statement, the meeting was significant.

“During the visit, official talks were held between Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and President Obama on regional and international issues of common interest in addition to setting out the means to enhance bilateral relations.”

Earlier, Johann Schmonsees, press attache at the US embassy here, said: “We adjusted the president’s schedule in coordination with the Indian government so that he would be able to depart India on Tuesday, to stop in Riyadh during the return trip and meet with King Salman and other Saudi officials, and offer his condolences on behalf of the American people.”

The US delegation was met at the airport by King Salman with a full guard of honor and the playing of the national anthems of the two countries.

King Salman also introduced his senior ministers to Obama, including Crown Prince Muqrin; Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, who is also Second Deputy Premier and Interior Minister; and Prince Khaled bin Bandar, chief of general intelligence.

Riyadh Gov. Prince Turki bin Abdullah, Saudi ambassador to the US Adel Al-Jubeir and his counterpart in Riyadh Joseph Westphal were also present at the airport.

According to the US embassy Riyadh, Obama led a delegation of current and former US officials, which include John Kerry, secretary of state; John McCain, senator from the state of Arizona; and Mark Warner, senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The others included Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser and assistant to the president for intergovernmental affairs and public engagement; Susan Rice, assistant to the president and national security adviser; Jennifer Palmieri, assistant to the president and director of communications; Lisa Monaco, assistant to the president for homeland security and counter terrorism; and Peter A. Selfridge, United States Chief of Protocol.

The other members included John Brennan, director of the Central Intelligence Agency; General Lloyd J. Austin III, commander of US Central Command; James Baker, former secretary of state; Condoleezza Rice, former secretary of state; Brent Scowcroft, former national security adviser; and several other foreign policy leaders from past administrations. Vice President Joe Biden had remained in Washington.

Baker is revered in the Arab Gulf region, particularly Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, for his role in orchestrating the alliance against Saddam Hussein in 1990 and 1991.

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UN condemns Israeli regime’s ‘organized torture’ against Palestinians

News Network

November 30,2025

The United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) has condemned the Israeli regime for enforcing a policy of “organized torture” against Palestinians.

In a report published on Friday, CAT stated that the occupying regime enforces a deliberate policy of “organized and widespread torture and ill-treatment” against Palestinian abductees, particularly since October 7, 2023, when Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza.

The committee expressed “deep concern over repeated severe beatings, dog attacks, electrocution, water-boarding, use of prolonged stress positions [and] sexual violence” inflicted on Palestinians.

Palestinian prisoners were degraded by “being made to act like animals or being urinated on,” systematically denied medical care, and subjected to excessive restraints, “in some cases resulting in amputation,” the report added.

CAT also condemned the routine application of “unlawful combatants law” to justify the prolonged detention without trial of thousands of Palestinian men, women, and children.

More than 10,000 Palestinians, including women and children, are currently held in Israeli prisons, according to Palestinian and international human rights groups, with 3,474 Palestinians in “administrative detention,” meaning they are imprisoned without trial for indefinite periods.

The report highlighted the “high proportion of children who are currently detained without charge or on remand,” noting that while Israel sets the age of criminal responsibility at 12, even younger children have been abducted.

Children designated as security prisoners face severe restrictions on family contact, may be subjected to solitary confinement, and are denied access to education, in clear violation of international law.

The committee further suggested that Israel’s policies across the Occupied Territories constitute collective torture against the Palestinian population.

“A range of policies adopted by Israel in the course of its continued unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading living conditions for the Palestinian population,” the report said.

On Thursday, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas condemned the systematic killing and torture of Palestinian abductees in Israeli prisons, urging international action to halt these abuses.

Citing human rights data, Hamas stated that 94 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli prisons since the start of Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on Gaza.

“This reflects an organized criminal approach that has turned these prisons into direct killing grounds to eliminate our people,” the resistance movement said.

Hamas called on the international community, the UN, and human rights organizations to immediately pressure Israel to end crimes against prisoners and uphold their rights as guaranteed by all international conventions and norms.

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