The Arab news service Mashahead posted on YouTube a video allegedly taken from the Saudi government television broadcast showing the blurred spot.
But Nail al-Jubeir, information director at the Saudi Embassy in Washington, wrote to me that "Saudi TV has been showing the total arrival ceremony at the airport and at the Palace and nowhere is anything blurred."
CNN's Hala Gorani, however, tweeted that her colleague Nic Robertson, in Riyadh, saw non- blurred images on Saudi TV.
Other versions of the Some Arab media outlets criticized Michelle Obama for wearing a blue dress, rather than a black one, which some say would have been more appropriate for a funeral.
Videos of the short meeting between Salman and President Obama indicated that the king may have additionally slighted the president by leaving him in the middle of the protocol, abruptly turning around and walking away to go to prayer.
After the meeting, Barack Obama and Salman held a bilateral meeting that included Secretary of State John Kerry, Sen.
John McCain, R-Arizona, National Security Adviser Susan Rice, Ambassador Joseph Westphal and CIA director John Brennan.
According to the White House pool report, "Obama and Salman sat in gold chairs. A small table in front of them held a spray of white flowers."
Obama praised the late king in a statement following his death, saying "King Abdullah's vision was dedicated to the education of his people and to greater engagement with the world."
In an interview with CNN before the visit, Obama explained why he was hesitant to press the new king about Saudi Arabia's abysmal human rights record, which includes restricting the rights of women.
"Sometimes we have to balance our need to speak to them about human rights issues with immediate concerns that we have in terms of countering terrorism or dealing with regional stability," Obama said.
- Bloomberg News
