The King of Bahrain urgently dispatched his Foreign Minister to Riyadh today to discuss a US request for Bahrain to cover the cost of repairing and maintaining all damage sustained by the Fifth Fleet base, in addition to paying compensation to service personnel who lost their personal belongings.

Separately, the King of Bahrain has, for several months, been expressing concern over the suspension of the annual financial support he receives from Saudi Arabia, despite Saudi assurances that the payments have merely been delayed rather than cancelled.