Saudi Crown Prince MBS says war with Iran would gut world economy

WASHINGTON: Saudi Arabia's crown prince said in an interview aired Sunday that war with Iran would devastate the global economy and he prefers a non-military solution to tensions with his regional rival.

"If the world does not take a strong and firm action to deter Iran, we will see further escalations that will threaten world interests," Prince Mohammed bin Salman told the CBS program "60 Minutes."

"Oil supplies will be disrupted and oil prices will jump to unimaginably high numbers that we haven´t seen in our lifetimes," the prince said.

The prince said a war between Saudi Arabia and Iran would be catastrophic for the world economy.

"The region represents about 30 percent of the world´s energy supplies, about 20 percent of global trade passages, about four percent of the world GDP. Imagine all of these three things stop," he said.

"This means a total collapse of the global economy, and not just Saudi Arabia or the Middle East countries."

He said a September 14 attack on Saudi oil facilities, which his country and the US blamed on Iran, had been senseless.

"There is no strategic goal. Only a fool would attack five percent of global supplies. The only strategic goal is to prove that they are stupid and that is what they did," said the prince.

Prince Mohammed was asked point-blank if he ordered the killing and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October last year.

"Absolutely not. This was a heinous crime. But I take full responsibility as a leader in Saudi Arabia, especially since it was committed by individuals working for the Saudi government," he said.

"When a crime is committed against a Saudi citizen by officials, working for the Saudi government, as a leader I must take responsibility. This was a mistake."

Saudi prosecutors say around two dozen people implicated in the murder are in custody, with death penalties sought against five men.