DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – A top Saudi diplomat says the kingdom has no information about an Arab activist living in Norway who says the CIA tipped Norwegian security about a threat against him emanating from Saudi Arabia.
Responding to a question during a press conference in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, Adel al-Jubeir, the minister of state for foreign affairs, claimed he'd never heard of Iyad al-Baghdadi.
Al-Jubeir, however, then said el-Baghdadi's motivation for speaking out publicly could be that he is seeking permanent residency in some country.
The Palestinian-born activist says his work investigating possible Saudi crimes have made him a target.
El-Baghdadi responded on Twitter, where he has more than 130,000 followers, saying that for the record, "I have no immigration struggles (anymore), I was granted asylum by Norway four years ago."