Saudi Arabia foils terrorist cell trained by Iran's Revolutionary Guard


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Saudi Arabian authorities last week broke into a terrorist cell that was trained by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, arresting 10 people and seizing weapons and explosives, a state security spokesman said on Monday.

A statement issued by the Presidency of State Security, which is overseen by the King and Crown Prince, said three of those detained had received training in Iran by the paramilitary group in October 2017 on manufacturing explosives.

The weapons and explosives were confiscated at a house and a farm, the statement said.

The cell was broken up by security forces on September 23, with weapons such as sniper rifles and pistols confiscated at two locations, the security agency said.

The security body did not provide much further detail or evidence regarding the alleged cell, such the location where the militants were arrested.

The identities of those detained have not been revealed because an investigation is still ongoing, the statement said.

Iran's foreign ministry dismissed the Saudi claims as "completely fabricated".

"Saudi rulers have cast aside political rationality and now... have chosen to fabricate lies against Iran as a means to distract public opinion and a method to cover their failed attempts," spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a statement.

Saudi Arabia and Iran are longtime rivals, though tensions have steadily increased in recent years between the two countries, particularly since the Trump administration began reimposing sanctions on Iran that effectively block it from selling its oil internationally.

Saudi Arabia has blamed Iran for being behind attacks on Saudi oil targets last year, including a missile and drone strike on Aramco’s largest crude oil processing plant in the eastern part of the kingdom.

Yemeni rebel Houthis claimed responsibility for that attack and Iran has denied involvement. A UN probe concluded the missiles were of Iranian origin.

The Saudis also accuse Iran of interfering in Yemen by backing the Houthis when they ousted the internationally-backed government from the capital in late 2014.

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on Sunday spoke with his US counterpart Mike Pompeo on Sunday.

The two discussed important work to advance humanitarian assistance and peace in Yemen, the need to increase Gulf stability, and the Abraham Accords signing, the US State Department said.

This month, Bahrain said it broke up a plot by militants backed by Iran earlier this year to launch attacks on diplomats and foreigners in the island nation home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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