A major World Economic Forum event in Saudi Arabia has been postponed following rising tensions and Iranian attacks across the Gulf. [Getty]
The World Economic Forum has postponed a meeting that had been due to take place in Saudi Arabia next month on global collaboration, growth and energy “in light of current regional developments”, Saudi Arabia’s state news agency said on Tuesday.
The WEF Global Collaboration and Growth Meeting had been scheduled to be held in Jeddah from April 22–23 but the United States and Israel are now at war with Iran.
The Saudi Press Agency said the decision to postpone the meeting had been taken following consultations with the Saudi Ministry of Economy and Planning. It said another date for the event would be announced in due course.
The latest development comes as the kingdom and its Gulf neighbours face Iranian strikes in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense said it detected two incoming ballistic missiles on Monday, while three ballistic missiles were detected around the capital the day before on Sunday.
Early Sunday morning, the Saudi Civil Defense issued a warning, before cancelling it seven minutes later after determining the danger had passed.
According to the defense ministry, five drones were also intercepted since midnight.
Iran has kept up retaliatory attacks on Saudi Arabia and nearby nations in response to US-Israeli strikes that sparked the regional war late last month.
The attacks on the oil-rich nations, some of which have targeted energy facilities, have exacerbated concerns of a global energy supply shock.
The conflict, now in its fourth week, has killed more than 2,000 people, upended global markets and spurred Iranian retaliatory strikes that have effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz and targeted Gulf energy infrastructure.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Iran have threatened to escalate the war, targeting energy and fuel facilities in the Gulf. Trump on Saturday threatened to bomb Iran’s power plants if Tehran did not fully reopen the Strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil supplies normally flow.
