DAVOS-Saudi foreign minister calls claim that Crown Prince hacked Bezos phone 'absurd'

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said on Wednesday that an allegation the kingdom’s crown prince had been involved in a plot to hack the phone of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was "absurd".

"I think absurd is exactly the right word," Prince Faisal told Reuters in an interview in Davos. "The idea that the crown prince would hack Jeff Bezos’ phone is absolutely silly." Two United Nations officials will report on Wednesday that there is enough evidence suggesting that Saudi Arabia had hacked Bezos' phone and both the kingdom and the United States should investigate, a person familiar with the matter said.

Prince Faisal said the kingdom would investigate it was presented with evidence "that substantiated these claims." He said he was not concerned that the UN statement would hurt foreign investment. "If there are concerns by some people, we will try to address those," he said.

Separately, Prince Faisal said Saudi Arabia was open to talks with Tehran "but it is really up to Iran". He said Iran would have to accept it "cannot further its regional agenda through violence" as a condition for any talks.

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