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RIYADH – Prince Turki Al-Faisal, former Saudi intelligence chief and ambassador to Washington, said in an interivew with the Arabic daily Ashara Al-Aswat that United States had threatened to use force against Saudi Arabia in 1973 after King Faisal and other Muslim leaders imposed an embargo on oil shipments to western countries which supported Israel during the October War.

He shed light on important events that took place during his father’s rule. He said that the embargo was instrumental in encouraging the US to find a quick and just solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

King Faisal and other Arab leaders were forced to take the decision as a result of America’s unprecedented support for Israel during the 1973 Arab-Israel war.

Prince Turki who was an adviser at the Royal Court in 1973 when King Faisal took the oil embargo decision, said the king was not shaken by the US threat and stood firm. He was speaking in an interview ahead of a seminar on King Faisal.

Possibility of American strike was leaked in US newspapers at that time.

Henry Kissinger, the then US secretary of state sent a telegram to King Faisal warning that if the kingdom did not lift the embargo the US would take all measures to protect its interests.

According to Turki:

The message was not specific about the measures they were going to take, but it appeared that they would use force. A CIA representative gave me the unsigned message telling me it was from Kissinger. I went to the king and delivered the message. He read it and said “Khair, Insha Allah (Good, God Willing).

The king was relaxed, cheerful and in good spirits despite the threat.

The embargo was announced after the October War when the US public was disgruntled by a lack of gasoline. Before announcing embargo, King Faisal had warned the US against its unqualified support for Israel and for providing weapons to the Jewish country.

The embargo influenced events as well as US policy towards Arab countries. The US tried to resolve the crisis and Kissinger visited the region about 10 times to reach a solution as the US saw that its interest was in reaching a peaceful settlement.

President Nixon then talked about a just solution to the Middle East problem. Later other American leaders also presented projects and solutions to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Prince Turki said:

For me the embargo was effective in boosting the Middle East peacr process and making new proposals to solve the Palestinian issue.