A top Saudi diplomat says the kingdom has no information about an Arab activist living in Norway who says the CIA tipped Norwegian security about a threat against him emanating from Saudi Arabia.

Responding to a question during a press conference in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, Adel al-Jubeir, the minister of state for foreign affairs, claimed he'd never heard of Iyad al-Baghdadi.

Al-Jubeir, however, then said el-Baghdadi's motivation for speaking out publicly could be that he is seeking permanent residency in some country.

The Palestinian-born activist says his work investigating possible Saudi crimes have made him a target.

El-Baghdadi responded on Twitter, where he has more than 130,000 followers, saying that for the record, "I have no immigration struggles (anymore), I was granted asylum by Norway four years ago."