Saudi Arabia Vows 'Iron Fist' Following Attack in Oil Province - San Francisco Chronicle

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Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia vowed to use "an iron fist" after 11 members of the security forces were injured by attackers during unrest in a Shiite Muslim town in the east, the official Saudi Press Agency said.

The government accused an unnamed "foreign country" of seeking to undermine the stability of the kingdom as a result of the violence in Awwamiya, in which the assailants, some on motorcycles, used machine guns and Molotov cocktails, the Riyadh-based news service reported late yesterday. A man and two women were also injured, the news service said.

Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil supplier, escaped the mass protests that toppled the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia this year and spread to the Saudi neighbors of Yemen and Bahrain. There were some rallies earlier in the year in mostly Shiite eastern Saudi Arabia, including Awwamiya and al-Qatif village.

Predominantly Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia has accused Shiite- led Iran of interfering in the affairs of Arab countries in the Persian Gulf, home to three-fifths of the world's oil reserves. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries sent troops to Bahrain in March to quell the mainly Shiite unrest.

"Given that this happened in the predominantly Shiite area of Saudi Arabia, in its east, this could be a sign of greater trouble ahead," Paul Sullivan, a political scientist specializing in Middle East security at Georgetown University in Washington, said yesterday in response to e-mailed questions. "Shiite-Sunni tensions are building in the region and Iran is one of the major culprits behind it."

Day of Rage

King Abdullah announced $130 billion in spending in February and March in response to the unrest in the region. The kingdom's senior religious scholars responded by issuing a statement calling the protests un-Islamic ahead of a so-called Day of Rage planned for March 11 in Saudi Arabia. Protesters stayed off the streets amid a high security presence.

"Using motorcycles is a new tactic in Saudi Arabia," said Theodore Karasik, director of research at the Dubai-based Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis. "It is a new way to get around security forces. Oil prices will likely rise because of the nature of the attack and if the violence continues."

Oil fell for a third day in New York amid concern that fuel demand will drop as investors lose confidence in the economies of the U.S. and Europe. Crude for November delivery decreased $1.94 to $75.67 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement since Sept. 23, 2010. Futures have fallen 7.9 percent in the past three sessions.

'Discrimination Condoned'

Saudi Arabia's Shiite minority is concentrated in its eastern oil-producing hub. The U.S. State Department noted in a human-rights report on Saudi Arabia published in 2009 that Shiites in the kingdom face "significant political, economic, legal, social and religious discrimination condoned by the government."

"One of the potentially most restive and unstable areas of Saudi Arabia is the east," Sullivan said. "This is also the part of the country where most of Saudi Arabia's oil is found. This could escalate political uncertainty in the country if it is not dealt with carefully and clearly. It could easily ratchet up Saudi-Iran tensions."

The rioters must decide whether "their loyalty is with their homeland or to that state and its religious authorities," the Saudi Press Agency said, citing an Interior Ministry statement. The attack took place at 9 p.m. local time Oct. 3, the news service reported.

Saudi Arabia, holder of the world's biggest oil reserves, enforces restrictions interpreted from the Wahhabi version of Sunni Islam. In addition to the restrictions on women, the government limits the practices of other branches of Islam.

--With assistance from Inal Ersan in Dubai, Heather Langan in London and Margot Habiby in Dallas. Editors: Heather Langan, Terry Atlas

To contact the reporter on this story: Glen Carey in Dubai at gcarey8@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net