NewsTracker Answers for week of Mar. 01, 2021

Q: Saudi Arabia’s crown prince likely approved the 2018 killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, according to a newly declassified U.S. intelligence report released last week. Where is Saudi Arabia?

Circle the area on this map

Q: Istanbul is the largest city of which country?

A. Algeria

B. Iraq

C. Syria

D. Turkey

D. Istanbul is the most populous city in Turkey. Historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople, it straddles the Bosphorus strait, and lies in both Europe and Asia. A Turkish bug inside the consulate recorded the murder and dismemberment of Khashoggi by an elite Saudi government hit team.

Q: The report said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had “absolute control” over Saudi security forces and it would have highly unlikely that the killing could have been carried out without his approval. Saudi Arabia has what type of government?

A. Absolute monarchy

B. Constitutional monarchy

C. Federal republic

D. Theocracy

A. The 35-year-old crown prince is in line to succeed his father King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, 85, the absolute ruler of the kingdom. But, Mohammed bin Salman has become the de facto leader of nation since he was named crown prince in 2017 and began eliminating his royal rivals and critics like Khashoggi.

Q: Some members of Congress have pushed for tough sanctions against the crown prince, but Saudi Arabia is a major buyer of U.S. military equipment which they use to counter which rival power in the region?

A. Jordan

B. Iran

C. Iraq

D. Turkey

B. Rival oil producers Saudi Arabia and Iran face each other across the Persian Gulf and fought proxy wars in Yemen and Syria. Relations between the countries soured after Iran ousted its monarch in 1979 and established a revolutionary Islamic republic. Saudi Arabia and Iran completely broke diplomatic relations in 2016.

Q: Clerics have great influence over the governments of both Saudi Arabia and Iran, but they represent rival sects of Islam. The Saudi royal family and the majority of the nation’s people follow which Islamic sect?

A. Shia

B. Sufi

C. Sunni

C. Between 85% and 90% of Saudis are Sunni, the largest denomination of Islam. Between 90% and 95% of Iranians follow Shia Islam. The bitter split between the sects go back to a 7th century dispute over who was the true successor to Muhammad who founded Islam in what is now Saudi Arabia.