Saudi Crown Prince warns of steep rise in oil prices

Saudi Arabia's crown prince warned in an interview broadcast on Sunday that oil prices could rise steeply if the world does not act to deter Iran.

Speaking to the CBS program "60 Minutes," Mohammed bin Salman said failure to act could embolden Iran and lead to war, which he said would ruin the global economy, following an attack on oil facilities which he blames on Tehran.

The crown prince said but he would prefer a political, peaceful solution to a military one.

Mohammed bin Salman also denied that he ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi operatives nearly a year ago, but said he ultimately bears "full responsibility" as the leader of his country.

Iran said the prince's remarks would "bring [the Saudis] nothing but shame". The prince, who is considered the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, is suspected of personally targeting Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist critical of the government in Riyadh.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, was last seen at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, where he was to receive papers ahead of his wedding. His body was dismembered and removed from the building, according to reports, and his remains have not been found.

Iran is Saudi Arabia's regional rival and an opponent of the US, which pulled out of a treaty aimed at limiting Tehran's nuclear programme after US president Donald Trump took power.

US-Iran tensions have risen markedly this year, with the US blaming Iran on attacks on six oil tankers in the Gulf between May and July. Tehran rejects the accusations.

Mohammed bin Salman said, "Oil supplies will be disrupted and oil prices will jump to unimaginably high numbers that we haven't seen in our lifetimes."

He said the Middle East region "represents about 30% of the world's energy supplies, about 20% of global trade passages, about 4% of the world GDP".

"Imagine all of these three things stop. This means a total collapse of the global economy, and not just Saudi Arabia or the Middle East countries," the prince said.

He blamed Iranian "stupidity" for the attacks, saying there was no strategic goal.