Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah received a phone call on Sunday from his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, who offered condolences over the Saudi Aramco helicopter crash at Ras Tanura that killed all 14 Saudi nationals on board. The Saudi Press Agency reported the call and said Al-Sabah prayed to Allah Almighty to bestow mercy and forgiveness upon the dead.
The exchange sits inside a wider cascade of diplomatic messages from Arab and Gulf governments that arrived in Riyadh within hours of the crash, including separate cables from Kuwait’s emir and crown prince, parallel messages from Qatar’s leadership, a same-day solidarity statement from the UAE, and condolence notes from the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and the Muslim World League. Saudi authorities have not yet named the victims, identified the helicopter operator, or disclosed the flight path, and the cause of the crash remains unknown.
What Was Said on the Call
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah took the call from Kuwait’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah on Sunday, per the Saudi Press Agency. The Saudi report described Al-Sabah as offering his government’s sympathy over a crash that killed all 14 people on board, framing the moment in the language Gulf condolence diplomacy uses for incidents that touch a head of state’s portfolio.
Sincere condolences and heartfelt sympathy over the martyrs of the Saudi Aramco helicopter crash, praying to Allah Almighty to bestow His vast mercy and forgiveness upon them and grant them eternal peace in Paradise.
Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait, in a phone call to his Saudi counterpart reported by the Saudi government statement on the phone call.
For his part, Prince Faisal bin Farhan “expressed his deep appreciation and gratitude to Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah for his sincere fraternal sentiments, praying for mercy and forgiveness for the martyrs,” per the same statement. The Saudi foreign ministry’s statement was filed by the Saudi Press Agency at 23:57 local time on Sunday, June 28, 2026.
The Crash at Ras Tanura
The helicopter came down on Sunday morning at the Saudi Aramco terminal in Ras Tanura, on Saudi Arabia’s eastern Gulf coast west of the Strait of Hormuz, the Saudi Energy Ministry said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency. The crash occurred “at approximately 6:00 a.m.” local time on Sunday, June 28, 2026, per the ministry. All 14 individuals on board were killed, and all were Saudi nationals. The Energy Ministry said it “regrets to announce” the crash.
The Saudi Energy Ministry has launched “a full investigation to determine the cause,” per the SPA report. Saudi authorities have not publicly identified the victims, named the helicopter operator, or disclosed the flight path. Asharq Al-Awsat reported that the helicopter is a Leonardo AW139, “the model operated in Aramco’s aviation fleet, with a seating capacity of 14 passengers,” citing SPA photography. Saudi Aramco did not respond immediately to a request for comment, per CNN.
The Saudi Energy Ministry used the term “martyrs” for the dead, framing the response in the language of national sacrifice. “The Ministry of Energy extends its deepest condolences and sincere sympathies to the families of the martyrs, praying that Almighty Allah grants them mercy and forgiveness and accepts them as martyrs,” the ministry said in the SPA-carried statement.
Ras Tanura hosts the largest refinery in the Middle East, per the Jerusalem Post, and the wider complex is connected by pipeline to several major producing fields, including the Ghawar Oil Field. Saudi Aramco holds the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves. Aramco had resumed crude oil loadings at the same terminal on Friday, June 26, after a halt that lasted nearly four months, per CNN. Saudi Arabia is “the world’s biggest oil exporter,” per a CNN report.
- 14 people killed, all Saudi nationals
- 6:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, June 28, 2026
- Ras Tanura terminal, on Saudi Arabia’s eastern Gulf coast
- Cause: unknown, full investigation launched
- Friday, June 26: Aramco resumed loadings after a halt that lasted nearly four months
Arab and Gulf Condolences Pour In
The Saudi-Kuwaiti foreign minister call is one node in a broader roundup of condolence messages that reached Riyadh within 24 hours of the crash. Arab News reported that messages “poured in from across the Arab world, with leaders and organizations expressing sympathy to King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi government and the families of the victims,” per the report on messages of condolence from across the Arab world. The same outlet noted that the outpouring of sympathy “highlighted the broad regional support for the Kingdom following one of the deadliest aviation incidents involving Saudi Aramco in recent years.”
Kuwait’s response went beyond the foreign minister’s call. Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah sent cables of condolence to King Salman, per Arab News. Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Deputy Amir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani, and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani sent similar messages.
The wider Arab response included foreign ministry statements from the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Jordan, Syria, Mauritania, and the State of Palestine. Jordan’s King Abdullah II also expressed his condolences directly to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The UAE became one of the first regional governments to react, with its Ministry of Foreign Affairs issuing a solidarity statement on Sunday, per the UAE’s solidarity statement after the Ras Tanura crash.
At the institutional level, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit conveyed condolences and affirmed the organization’s solidarity. Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi extended condolences to the Saudi leadership and people. The Muslim World League, through Secretary-General Mohammed Al-Issa, expressed deep sorrow. A separate account of condolence messages from Arab leaders identified Official Spokesperson for the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign and Expatriate Affairs Ambassador Fouad Majali as having “affirmed Jordan’s full solidarity with the Kingdom in the wake of the tragic incident and extended his sincere condolences to the families of the martyrs.”
- Kuwait FM Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah called Saudi FM Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah on Sunday, per the Saudi Press Agency
- Kuwait Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah sent cables of condolence to King Salman
- Qatar Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Deputy Amir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani, and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani sent similar messages
- Jordan King Abdullah II expressed condolences directly to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
- The UAE, Oman, Jordan, Syria, Mauritania, and the State of Palestine issued foreign ministry statements expressing solidarity with Saudi Arabia
- Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit conveyed condolences and affirmed the organization’s solidarity
- GCC Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi extended condolences to the Saudi leadership and people
- MWL Secretary-General Mohammed Al-Issa expressed deep sorrow and extended condolences
A Terminal Just Back Online
The helicopter came down on the first weekend after Aramco restarted crude loadings at the same terminal. Loadings at Ras Tanura had been suspended for “nearly four months,” per CNN, and the halt stemmed from the US-Israeli war on Iran, per Al Jazeera. Aramco resumed loadings on Friday, June 26, two days before the crash, with regional outlets framing the restart as a return to normal for Gulf oil flows ahead of an interim deal to halt the war.
Saudi Arabia is the world’s biggest oil exporter, and Ras Tanura sits at the visible end of the Kingdom’s export pipeline. The Saudi Energy Ministry’s statement used the term “martyrs” for the dead, and foreign ministries that reached out to Riyadh echoed that framing in their condolence statements. Aramco has not commented publicly on the crash beyond the SPA-carried ministry statement.
Operations at the wider Ras Tanura complex have not been reported as disrupted by the crash itself. The Energy Ministry’s investigation is into the helicopter. Saudi Aramco’s stock trades on the Saudi exchange under the ticker 2222.SE, per the Jerusalem Post, and the company is headquartered in Dhahran.
What Has Not Yet Been Disclosed
Three sets of facts remain undisclosed. Saudi authorities have not released the names of the 14 victims, named the helicopter operator beyond the Leonardo AW139 model identified from SPA photography, or disclosed the work the aircraft was performing at the Ras Tanura terminal at the time of the crash.
The Saudi Energy Ministry has confirmed “a full investigation” but has not given a timeline for findings, per Oil & Gas Middle East. The cause of the crash remains unknown. Saudi Aramco has not commented publicly on the crash beyond the SPA-carried ministry statement. The Energy Ministry’s statement stopped at confirming the time, the location, the number of dead, and the nationality of the victims.
The Asharq Al-Awsat piece on the condolence messages was filed at 06:39 local time on Monday, June 29. The Saudi-Kuwaiti call statement was carried by SPA at 23:57 local time on Sunday. By Monday morning, the condolence messages from monarchies, foreign ministries, and regional bodies had arrived in a single news cycle, while the official investigation was still days from its first findings.
