cable 10RIYADH118, SAUDI FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESSING CHINA TO STOP IRANIAN PROLIFERATION, CONCERNED ABOUT TSA REGULATIONS

Concern over TSA Regulations:
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¶9. (SBU) Prince Torki noted he had been instructed to raise Saudi Arabia's significant concern about the TSA regulations which had included Saudi Arabia in a limited group of countries for additional airport screening. Prince Torki said that this issue had caused a lot of difficulties and embarrassment for Saudi Arabia, to the degree that Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal will raise this with the Secretary in London on January 27. Prince Torki said that Saudi Arabia was not upset about the regulation itself, as it recognized the U.S. right and obligation to protect its citizens. The issue, rather, was inclusion on the list with the likes of Cuba, which causes Saudi Arabia's friends and enemies to question how strong its bilateral relationship with the United States really is. Prince Torki said it is very hard to explain to the Saudi public why they are included on this list, despite not being the origin of the December 25 flight, while other countries that have had recent terrorist incidents on planes, like the UK, Egypt and Turkey, are not. Prince Torki said that Saudi Arabia had been shocked to be included on the list. He noted that Saudi Arabia had been told these provisions would only be temporary, and said Saudi Arabia would like to know how and when they will be amended, implying that the longer they remained in effect without any public explanation from the USG, the more it was likely to prompt the Saudi Government to re-evaluate areas of cooperation, including counter-terrorism cooperation. A/S Feltman promised to convey the spirit and strength of the message, and invited any specific Saudi suggestions to address the security gap regarding nonmetallic explosives exploited in the December 25 incident.