RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- World leaders and top dignitaries began arriving in Saudi Arabia on Saturday to give their condolences after the death of King Abdullah.
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The king died early Friday at age 90 after nearly two decades at the helm.
Despite deep tensions and rivalries between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was among the first to arrive Saturday in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, where he was greeted at the airport by the late king's son, Prince Turki, who is governor of Riyadh.
President Barack Obama canceled a trip to India's Taj Mahal to add a visit to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. The president called the new Saudi monarch, King Salman, from Air Force One while en route to India to express sympathy over Abdullah's death, according to a statement from the White House. The White House said the king welcomed the news that Obama would be traveling to Riyadh, the capital.
The president will "offer his condolences on behalf of the American people," Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said in a statement. "The president regrets that he will be unable to visit Agra during this trip," Earnest added, referring to the home of the Taj Mahal.
French President Francois Hollande, King Felipe VI of Spain and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sissi arrived in Riyadh to offer condolences, the official Saudi Press Agency said. The U.K.'s Prince Charles and Prime Minister David Cameron also traveled to Riyadh to pay respects.
Because Saudi Arabia is Islam's birthplace, and its ruler the custodian of Mecca, even regional countries at odds with the kingdom are sending high-level delegations.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who fell out with the Saudis over the turmoil in Egypt, interrupted a visit to Ethiopia to fly to Riyadh for the funeral.
Talk of Iran's Zarif visiting Saudi Arabia last year quickly dissipated after Iran protested comments by Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal in which he called on Tehran to withdraw its "occupying forces" from Syria, Yemen and Iraq. Iran insists it has no combat forces on the ground in any of the three countries, though it says it has sent senior commanders as advisers to Syria and Iraq.
The conflicts across the region deepened Sunni-Shiite tensions and fueled militancy during Abdullah's reign.
While the decades-old U.S. alliance with Saudi Arabia remained strong during Abdullah's reign, strains surfaced as the countries disagreed over the war in Syria and talks with Iran.
Obama's decision to hold back from military action against the Syrian government in 2013 and his engagement in talks with Iran have been unpopular among Saudi leaders. Differences receded as the two countries joined forces to formulate a plan for defeating the Islamic State extremist group. The U.S. has underwritten the security of Saudi Arabia in an alliance that dates to the 1940s.
Recently, Saudi Arabia has sent warplanes to join the Obama administration's military campaign against the Islamic State. And while surging U.S. oil production has made the United States less dependent on Saudi petroleum, the kingdom's ability to shape world events was reinforced when it opted against cutting production, resulting in a sharp drop in the price of oil. That in turn has helped undercut the economies of Russia and other energy producers.
"King Abdullah's life spanned from before the birth of modern Saudi Arabia through its emergence as a critical force within the global economy and a leader among Arab and Islamic nations," Obama said in a statement. "King Abdullah's vision was dedicated to the education of his people and to greater engagement with the world."
The White House had announced it would send Vice President Joe Biden to lead a delegation to Saudi Arabia. But the administration said it changed the plan after it was decided that the president could go himself, adding that Biden would remain in Washington.
Obama made an overnight visit to Saudi Arabia in March and met with Abdullah at his desert camp outside Riyadh. The king was in frail health at the time and appeared to be breathing with the help of an oxygen tank.
Obama has not often flown to other countries to pay his respects after the deaths of their leaders. One of the few exceptions was his decision to attend the state memorial for Nelson Mandela, the former South African president who died in 2013.
The U.S. president was due to arrive in New Delhi this morning.
The rest of Obama's travel itinerary was to remain intact, including meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a meeting with U.S. and Indian business leaders, and participation in the annual Republic Day festivities marking the enactment of India's constitution.
Modi, who took office in May, surprised the White House by inviting Obama to attend the parade as his guest, the first time that honor has been bestowed on an American president.
Obama's pivot comes two weeks after the White House faced criticism for not sending a high-level representative to Paris for a peace rally in the wake of terrorist attacks in France. The White House later said it was a mistake that someone with more stature than the U.S. ambassador to France had not joined the dozens of world leaders who marched arm-in-arm through the boulevards of Paris.
U.S. officials said Obama and the Saudis probably would discuss the deteriorating security situation in Yemen, where Saudi-backed President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi quit under pressure from Shiite rebels known as Houthis. The rebels have been accused of receiving backing from Shiite Iran, leading to Saudi worries about being encircled by states influenced by Tehran.
As leaders praised Abdullah's reign, Human Rights Watch said in a report that though there have been "marginal" advances for women's rights, he "failed to secure the fundamental rights of Saudi citizens to free expression, association, and assembly."
Hollande was asked by French reporters in Davos, Switzerland, whether he'd use his visit to raise the issue of Raif Badawi, a Saudi blogger condemned to 1,000 lashes after being found guilty of insulting Islam. The French president avoided the question, answering that he wants to "reinforce our relationship of confidence" with Saudi Arabia, which he called an "important partner in the fight against terrorism."
Beyond its role as an ally in key Middle East conflicts, Saudi Arabia has also been a major arms buyer from U.S. and European companies.
Abdullah, who ascended to the throne in 2005 but had been ruler for a decade before that, was buried Friday afternoon after a prayer service in Riyadh. The Muslim-only funeral was attended by Turkey's Erdogan and the rulers of Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain.
In line with the Wahhabi interpretation of Islamic tradition observed in the kingdom, Abdullah was buried in an unadorned, beige cloth without a coffin in an unmarked grave. There was no memorial service.
Heads of state and royals from around world will instead be visiting Saudi Arabia over the coming days to pay their respects in meetings with Saudi royals. Powerful heads of tribes, as well as average Saudi citizens, will also meet the new king to give their condolences and express pledges of loyalty to him.
The visits are taking place in Riyadh in the king's dewaniya, a traditional Arab reception area.
Friday evening, senior cleric Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul-Aziz Al-Sheikh, government ministers, senior military leaders and other Saudi officials met with Salman, as well as his Crown Prince Muqrin and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who is also interior minister, to swear their allegiance.
Al-Sheikh said in comments carried on national television that he advises the king to "fear God in private and in public" and to work with sincerity. He praised the handing over of power as a "legitimate transition," essentially giving the Al Saud family the influential religious establishment's continued blessing and support.
Information for this article was contributed by Abdullah al-Shihri, Aya Batrawy, Julie Pace and Ashok Sharma of The Associated Press; by Gregory Viscusi, Glen Carey, Tony Czuczka, Souhail Karam and Angela Greiling Keane of Bloomberg News; and by Peter Baker of The New York Times.
A Section on 01/25/2015