Saudi Arabia threatened on Sunday to use its economic clout to retaliate against any punitive measures, hitting back after the US President Donald Trump said he could take action against the world’s largest oil-exporter over the disappearance of a government critic.
“The kingdom emphasises that it will respond to any measure against it with an even stronger measure,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “The kingdom’s economy has an influential and vital role in the global economy.”
While the Saudi statement didn’t make an explicit reference to oil, analysts and traders said it could be read as a veiled threat