Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
Amid international uproar over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, some members of Saudi Arabia's ruling family are agitating to prevent Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman from becoming king, three sources close to the royal court said.
Dozens of princes and cousins from powerful branches of the Al Saud family want to see a change in the line of succession but would not act while King Salman - the crown prince’s 82-year-old father - is still alive, the sources said. They recognise that the king is unlikely to turn against his favourite son, known in the West as MbS.
Rather, they are discussing the possibility with other family members that after the king's death, Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, 76, a younger full brother of King Salman and uncle of the crown prince, could take the throne, according to the sources.
Prince Ahmed, King Salman’s only surviving full brother, would have the support of family members, the security apparatus and some Western powers, one of the Saudi sources said.
Prince Ahmed returned to Riyadh in October after 2-1/2 months abroad. During the trip, he appeared to criticise the Saudi leadership while responding to protesters outside a London residence chanting for the downfall of the Al Saud dynasty. He was one of only three people on the Allegiance Council, made up of the ruling family's senior members, who opposed MbS becoming crown prince in 2017, two Saudi sources said at the time.
Neither Prince Ahmed nor his representatives could be reached for comment. Officials in Riyadh did not immediately respond to requests from Reuters for comment on succession issues.
The House of Saud is made up of hundreds of princes. Unlike typical European monarchies, there is no automatic succession from father to eldest son. Instead the kingdom’s tribal traditions dictate that the king and senior family members from each branch select the heir they consider fittest to lead.
Senior U.S. officials have indicated to Saudi advisers in recent weeks that they would support Prince Ahmed, who was deputy interior minister for nearly 40 years, as a potential successor, according to Saudi sources with direct knowledge of the consultations.
These Saudi sources said they were confident that Prince Ahmed would not change or reverse any of the social or economic reforms enacted by MbS, would honour existing military procurement contracts and would restore the unity of the family.
One senior U.S. official said the White House is in no hurry to distance itself from the crown prince despite pressure from lawmakers and the CIA’s assessment that MbS ordered Khashoggi’s murder, though that could change once Trump gets a definitive report on the killing from the intelligence community.
The official also said the White House saw it as noteworthy that King Salman seemed to stand by his son in a speech in Riyadh on Monday and made no direct reference to Khashoggi’s killing, except to praise the Saudi public prosecutor.
President Donald Trump on Saturday called the CIA assessment that MbS ordered Khashoggi's killing "very premature" but "possible", and said he would receive a complete report on the case on Tuesday. A White House official referred Reuters to those comments and had "nothing else to add at this time".
The Saudi sources said U.S. officials had cooled on MbS not only because of his suspected role in the murder of Khashoggi. They are also rankled because the crown prince recently urged the Saudi defence ministry to explore alternative weapons supplies from Russia, the sources said.
In a letter dated May 15, seen by Reuters, the crown prince requested that the defence ministry "focus on purchasing weapon systems and equipment in the most pressing fields" and get training on them, including the Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile system.
Neither the Russian defence ministry nor officials in Riyadh immediately responded to Reuters requests for comment.
U.S. ROLE KEY
The brutal killing of Khashoggi, a prominent critic of the crown prince, in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last month has drawn global condemnation, including from many politicians and officials in the United States, a key Saudi ally. The CIA believes the crown prince ordered the killing, according to U.S. sources familiar with the assessment.
Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor has said the crown prince knew nothing of the killing.
The international uproar has piled pressure on a royal court already divided over 33-year-old Prince Mohammed's rapid rise to power. Since his ascension, the prince has gained popular support with high-profile social and economic reforms including ending a ban on women driving and opening cinemas in the conservative kingdom.
His reforms have been accompanied by a crackdown on dissent, a purge of top royals and businessmen on corruption charges, and a costly war in Yemen.
He has also marginalized senior members of the royal family and consolidated control over Saudi’s security and intelligence agencies.
He first ousted then-powerful crown prince and interior minister Mohammed bin Nayef (MbN), 59, in June 2017. Then he removed Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, 65, son of the late King Abdullah, as head of the National Guard and detained him as part of an anti-corruption campaign.
Some 30 other princes were also arrested, mistreated, humiliated and stripped of their wealth, even as MbS splashed out on palaces, a $500 million yacht, and set a new record in the international art market with the purchase of a painting by Italian Renaissance engineer and painter Leonardo Da Vinci.
The entire House of Saud has emerged weakened as a result.
According to one well-placed Saudi source, many princes from senior circles in the family believe a change in the line of succession "would not provoke any resistance from the security or intelligence bodies he controls" because of their loyalty to the wider family.
"They (the security apparatus) will follow any consensus reached by the family."
Officials in Riyadh did not respond to a request for comment.
The United States, a key ally in economic and security terms, is likely to be a determining factor in how matters unfold in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi sources and diplomats say.
Trump and his son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner have cultivated deep personal relationships with the crown prince. One Saudi insider said MbS feels he still has their support and is willing to "roll some heads to appease the U.S."
But Trump and top administration officials have said Saudi officials should be held to account for any involvement in Khashoggi’s death and have imposed sanctions on 17 Saudis for their alleged role – including one of MbS's closest aides.
U.S. lawmakers are meanwhile pushing legislation to punish Riyadh for the killing, and both Republican and Democratic senators have urged Trump to get tough on the crown prince.
King Salman, 82, is aware of the consequences of a major clash with the United States and the possibility that Congress could try to freeze Saudi assets.
Those who have met the king recently say he appeared to be in denial about the role of MbS in what happened, believing there to be a conspiracy against the kingdom. But they added that he looked burdened and worried.
Journalists and civil society members across Pakistan held rallies on Monday to protest the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.Carrying banners plastered with Khashoggi’s face and chanting slogans, journalists held rallies and demonstrations in capital Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Sukkur, and other cities on a call of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) -- an umbrella organization of several journalist unions.Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, was killed shortly after he entered the Saudi Consulate General in Istanbul Oct. 2.Saudi Arabia had offered shifting explanations for Khashoggi's disappearance before suggesting he was killed during a botched operation by rogue agents.His body has yet to be returned to his family amid reports that it was chemically dissolved.In Karachi, a large number of journalists carrying banners and placards with slogans against Khashoggi’s murder held a protest demonstration outside Karachi Press Club.Addressing the demonstration, PFUJ General Secretary, G.M Jamali termed Khashoggi’s murder “vicious”, and another sequel of an ongoing campaign to gag free press in several countries.Trump defends Saudi prince despite Khashoggi murder“We will not let this issue go down the drain. The world in general and the journalist fraternity in particular are shocked over the ruthless murder of Khashoggi, and dismemberment of his body. This is simply inhuman,” Jamali said.“It has never happened in the world that a journalist is invited to a consulate and brutally murdered,”Jamali said, adding: "We strongly demand that Saudi government fulfill its promise for a fair investigation and bring the murderers to justice.”He further said that the "Zionist state" had let lose a reign of terror against journalists who were exposing its crimes against humanity.Condemning Khashoggi’s murder, Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ) head Tariq Abul Hassan hailed the Turkish government for wisely handling and keeping the issue alive despite all odds.“This [Khashoggi’s murder] is not an issue between some countries. Rather, it is the matter of life and death for the journalist community as if the murderers are given a safe passage, it will pave the way for more state-sponsored violence against journalists across the world,” he went on to say.Welcoming Riyad’s assurance that it will bring Khashoggi’s killers to justice, he said: “ There must be a logical conclusion of the ongoing investigation into Khashoggi’s murder. We want the real culprits behind his murder be held accountable.”In Lahore, the protest demonstration was held outside Lahore Press Club.A protest rally was also taken out from National Press Club in Islamabad.France to impose sanctions on Saudi Arabia
Pakistani journalists protest Khashoggi's killing
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu met behind closed doors Tuesday to discuss the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The pair met after Çavuşoğlu spoke at the 8th Global Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations, which was held at the UN headquarters in New York.UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric noted that in addition to discussing Khashoggi's killing, Çavuşoğlu and Guterres also talked about the wars in Yemen and Syria, as well as Cyprus.Trump defends Saudi prince despite Khashoggi murderDujarric added that the UN has not received an official request for an international probe into the Khashoggi case.Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and columnist for The Washington Post, went missing after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.After initially saying he had left the consulate alive, the Saudi administration admitted weeks later he was killed there.Investigation of the incident suggests a special hit squad came to the consulate, scouted Istanbul’s Belgrad Forest and tried to cover up evidence at the consulate building.
Çavuşoğlu, Guterres discuss Khashoggi murder
U.S. President Donald Trump continues to defend Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman amid mounting evidence that he is responsible for the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, The New York Times reported Monday.In an opinion piece, The Times wrote that Trump called Saudi Arabia a “truly spectacular ally” in direct contrast to his earlier criticism of the Kingdom for “the worst cover-up in history”.Even after the CIA released a report which concluded that bin Salman ordered the assassination, Trump said he would wait for his administration to deliver its own report before making any comments and assigning blame.Khashoggi case: Germany slaps travel ban on 18 Saudis"For Mr. Trump, it is enough that Prince Mohammed denied any involvement in the killing in phone calls with him," said The Times.The newspaper noted that Trump’s position on Khashoggi is becoming increasingly isolated, with the European Union demanding clear answers on what happened to the Saudi journalist, and even Israel, which has strategic ties with Saudi Arabia, not verbally defending the Crown Prince.Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, went missing after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.Saudi king makes no mention of Khashoggi case in first public comment since murderAfter initially saying he had left the consulate alive, the Saudi administration admitted weeks later that he was killed there.Trump's position on the matter is also being met with resistance in the U.S. legislature.“Everything points to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, MbS, ordering @washingtonpost journalist Jamal #Khashoggi’s killing,” said Bob Corker, head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.Saudi trolls take action as Ankara presses forward in Khashoggi caseThe president noted that Saudi Arabia’s pledge to buy $110 billion worth of weapons has created jobs for the American people. Yet The Times, citing defense analysts, said only around $14.5 billion in sales have been booked.Trump also noted that the U.S. has suspended air-to-air refueling of Saudi planes in the Yemen war and imposed sanctions on 17 Saudi nationals involved in the crime.“At the same time, we do have an ally, and I want to stick with an ally that in many ways has been very good,” he said.Trump wants Saudi Arabia as an ally despite 'vicious' Khashoggi murderThe Times wrote that despite Trump's defense of bin Salman, the White House will leverage the Khashoggi incident to curtail the war in Yemen, which would appease American legislators who have been calling for an end to the war.Yet Trump's commitment to bin Salman will not waver because the Crown Prince "has become the fulcrum of the administration’s strategy in the Middle East," according to The Times.“It’s very clear that what the administration wants is to buy off Congress with Yemen,” Bruce Riedel, an expert on Saudi Arabia and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told The Times.“But it doesn’t solve the underlying problem, which is that Mohammed bin Salman is a destabilizing force in the region.”
Trump defends Saudi prince despite Khashoggi murder
ALLEGIANCE COUNCIL
When the king dies or is no longer be able to rule, the 34-member Allegiance Council, a body representing each line of the ruling family to lend legitimacy to succession decisions, would not automatically declare MbS the new king.
Even as crown prince, MbS would still need the council to ratify his ascension, one of the three Saudi sources said. While the council accepted King Salman's wish to make MbS crown prince, it would not necessarily accept MbS becoming king when his father dies, especially given that he sought to marginalise council members.
Officials in Riyadh did not respond to a request for comment.
The Saudi sources say MbS has destroyed the institutional pillars of nearly a century of Al Saud rule: the family, the clerics, the tribes and the merchant families. They say this is seen inside the family as destabilising.
Despite the controversy over Khashoggi's killing, MbS is continuing to pursue his agenda.
Some insiders believe he built his father a new but remote Red Sea palace in Sharma, at the Neom City development site -- thrown up in a record one year at a cost of $2 billion -- as a gilded cage for his retirement.
The site is isolated, the closest city of Tabouk more than 100 km (60 miles) away. Residence there would keep the king out of the loop on most affairs of state, one of the sources close to the royal family said.
Officials in Riyadh did not respond to a request for comment.