Saudi FM Jubeir on John McCain: ‘America lost a hero, I have lost a friend’

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir wrote in a tweet on Sunday that late US Republican Senator John McCain was a “personal friend” he had known for more than 30 years.

“My deepest condolences to the family of Senator @SenJohnMcCain. America lost an American hero and I lost a personal friend I have known for more than thirty years. May his soul Rest In Peace,” Jubeir posted.

McCain, revered prisoner of war and both an independent voice in the US Republican Party and its 2008 presidential nominee, died on Saturday, nearly a year after he confirmed he had brain cancer. He was 81.

McCain, who represented Arizona in the Senate and House of Representatives for 35 years, had said the cancer was discovered in July 2017 and he has not been at the US Capitol this year. He also had surgery for an intestinal infection in April.