Ailing Saudi King Fahd hospitalized

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — King Fahd, whose efforts to strengthen ties between Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, and the United States provoked the wrath of Islamic militants, was hospitalized yesterday, apparently with pneumonia.

The king’s half brother, Crown Prince Abdullah, has been Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler since the monarch suffered a debilitating stroke in 1995 and is expected to become the de jure ruler of the kingdom should King Fahd die.

King Fahd’s hospitalization triggered reports that an emergency had been declared in the kingdom. Officials said on the condition of anonymity that an alert had been declared and that military leaves had been canceled or at least discouraged. However, this was firmly denied by the Interior Ministry.

“This is absolutely not true,” ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki said. “There’s no canceling of leaves and no state of emergency or anything.”

Early today, the official Saudi Press Agency quoted an unidentified Saudi source as saying that the king’s health was good and examinations were continuing normally. The news agency said earlier only that King Fahd, who is believed to be 82, was admitted to King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh for unspecified medical tests.

Reports of the monarch’s deteriorating health had been blamed for sending the Saudi stock market tumbling 5 percent earlier in the week.

Yesterday’s news that he was taken to a hospital helped push crude oil futures up 84 cents to near $52 a barrel ahead of the U.S. Memorial Day holiday weekend, the start of the American summer driving season.

Saudi Arabia’s strategic importance as the holder of the world’s largest oil reserves and the fact that it is home to Islam’s two holiest shrines means even a stable succession could affect world markets and create widespread political fallout.

Asked about the king after a speech in San Francisco, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she did not know the extent of his health problems.

“He has in fact had some health problems for quite a long time. We have an excellent relationship with Crown Prince Abdullah,” Miss Rice said.

With the portly, goateed Saudi king only a figurehead in the past decade, it has been Crown Prince Abdullah who has overseen the kingdom’s crackdown on Islamic militants after followers of Saudi-born Osama bin Laden launched a wave of attacks in the kingdom. The Saudi de facto chief tried to rebuild relations with the United States in the wake of the September 11 attacks. Of the 19 hijackers, 15 were Saudis.

At one Riyadh coffee shop yesterday, patrons flipped from channel to channel on a television set, intently seeking information on the hospitalized Saudi ruler’s condition.

“This is all we’re talking about tonight,” said one man who would give his name only as Khaled. “Everyone is talking about what is going on. … We’re waiting for more news.”

On the streets, there was no sign of an increased security presence.

One official said doctors believe the monarch has pneumonia. The official requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of his position.

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