Saudi Arabia Threatens to Fire on Israeli Ships: Notifies United States

Saudi Arabia has notified the United States that Israel ships will be fired upon henceforth if they seek to pass through the Straits of Tiran en route to or from Elath. This was learned today from official U.S. sources.

The Saudi Arabian Ambassador has called at the State Department and served notice that Israel vessels will not be permitted to transit the Straits because the passage is considered as within Saudi Arabia territorial waters. From Cairo it was reported that a warning message was sent to President Eisenhower by the King of Saudi Arabia.)

State Department spokesman Lincoln White publicly admitted today that Saudi diplomats have “discussed” the issue and the question of the U.S. oil tanker Kern Hills which delivered the first oil shipment to Elath. The Saudi Ambassador met with William Rountree, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. Mr. White declined to specifically characterize the meeting and would say only that no formal note from Saudi Arabia was received.

Government sources have insisted that the United States did not direct the Kern Hills to visit Elath although the ship did have a right to transit the Straits. The Saudi complaint is being examined in the light of the Department’s desire to avoid violence in the Straits. A tendency is emerging to seek a clearer international legal definition of the rights of the various nations bordering on the Gulf.

EGYPT AND SAUDI ARABIA PROTEST PASSAGE OF U.S. TANKER TO ELATH

A report from Cairo stated that the independent Egyptian newspaper Al Ahran said both Egypt and Saudi Arabia have protested formally to the United States against the passage through the Gulf of Akaba to the Israeli port of Elath by the American tanker Kern Hill. Both nations said the Gulf is Arabian territorial water. In Damascus, Syrian Premier Sabri El Assali told reporters all the Arab states were considering a joint protest to the U.S., the Cairo paper reported.

The report in Al Ahram followed an official Egyptian statement that Israel has refused to withdraw troops from positions on Egyptian territory covering the approach to Elath. The spokesman said Israeli troops still occupy Taba and Ras-el-Hakb on the western bank of the Gulf and have refused to comply with requests by the UN Emergency Force that they leave.

Meanwhile the semi-official Middle Eastern News Agency announced the Egyptian Army had begun its annual maneuvers April 8, and that they would continue for several days. The announcement helped to explain several days of reports the army had been placed in a state of alert. Troop movements in the Cairo area have been particularly heavy in recent days and air raid practice alerts were staged in all major Egyptian cities