Minister of the Interior Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz in a newspaper interview today warned against rumors concerning the outcome of the investigations on the explosion at Al-Khobar, and declared that an announcement will be made in due course. Reiterating that Saudi Arabia is in no hurry to announce the outcome prior to being fully assured of the facts, he stated: "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will announce full facts in this respect without any embellishment, accusation, incitement, or exploitation of the incident for the purpose of settling an account ..... such behavior runs counter to the nature of the Kingdom." He emphasized that all circulated reports that come from non-Saudi sources are incorrect, making it clear that only the Saudi security organs and authorities are aware of all the facts and details pertaining to the explosion, and categorically denying reports that certain parties had been provided with taped confessions supposedly from suspects. Prince Nayef stated: "What happened was a Saudi affair, and the Saudi security authorities tackled the problem on the spot, taking into account the principle of self-dependency which has always proved to be successful."

Asked specifically about certain reports in the international media, in particular 'The Washington Post' and 'The Guardian', concerning the possibility of involvement of certain foreign countries in the incident, Prince Nayef repeated that the only correct information is that from the primary sources, and that the Saudi security organs are the sole authority aware of the details, adding: "We deal only with straight facts and work to ensure the security, safety and interests of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."

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