Mohammed bin Salman reportedly kept Antony Blinken waiting for hours for a meeting, then didn't show, a report said. It came as Blinken, the US secretary of state, tried to persuade the Saudi ruler to condemn the Hamas terror attacks. Arab countries have criticized Israel's response to the Hamas attacks.

Saudi Arabia's ruler kept US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, waiting for hours for a meeting, then didn't show up until the next day, in an astonishing snub to the US' top diplomat, The Washington Post said.  In the wake of the Hamas terror attacks in Israel, Blinken last week visited several US allies in the Middle East in a bid to rally them around the US' position, including Mohamed bin Salman. The core goal of the trip was to persuade the leaders to condemn Hamas' brutal violence, and try and tamp down unrest in their countries sparked by the new fighting. But Blinken reportedly got a cold reception in Riyadh, where key differences between the US and Saudis emerged.