Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Adel Al Jubeir
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Wednesday the kingdom is united around its leadership, dismissing as "ridiculous" reports that members of the Saudi royal family want to see a change in the line of succession.
Asked in an interview by CNBC about a Reuters report that members of the royal family are discussing the possibility of changing the line of succession, but not while King Salman is alive, Adel al-Jubeir said:
"These are outrageous comments that are being made and are totally unacceptable."
In a statement Reuters said: “We stand by our story.”
Reuters had quoted three sources close to the royal court as saying that 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.
The U.S. has continuously supported Saudi Arabia because of oil, Iran and terrorism, however, these reasons are becoming increasingly indefensible, according to a foreign policy expert. The Eurasia Group Foundation (EGF)'s Mark Hannah responded to U.S. President Donald Trump's support for Saudi Arabia, despite reports the CIA concluded with high confidence that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.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, weeks later the Saudi administration admitted he was killed there.Trump maintained in a statement the U.S. needs Saudi Arabia because of its oil, its willingness to counter Iran and its ability to counter terrorism in the region.However, Hannah wrote that "none of these holds water."According to Hannah, the U.S. support for Saudi Arabia has led to a war in Yemen that is "one of the worst humanitarian crises in our lifetime," he wrote in the opinion piece for NBC News.As the conflict enters its fourth year, around 14 million people in Yemen, or half the total population, are at risk of famine, according to the U.N."Saudi Arabia, long a problematic U.S. partner, has gone rogue, and Washington’s stubborn support for it is increasingly indefensible," Hannah wrote Tuesday.Hannah, a research fellow at EGF, said the U.S. has surpassed Saudi Arabia and Russia as the world's leading producer of petroleum, and that the Saudis need to export their oil more than the U.S. needs to import from them.He argued the notion that Iran is poised to dominate the Middle East and that the Saudis are a bulwark against terrorism are false.In fact, Hannah said the idea that the Saudis can help in the fight against terrorism "seems downright foolish," noting that 15 of the 19 hijackers involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were from Saudi Arabia.There is also a “longstanding and close relationships between al Qaeda and the religious components of the Saudi government,” according to the lead attorney in the case of the attacks, he said.It is up to Congress to end U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia, and then ask questions of Washington’s approach to the Middle East, according to Hannah."It is long past time to start rethinking our foreign policy in the Middle East, which is centered around unnecessary and untenable support for one of the world’s most repressive autocracies," he wrote.
Trump's excuses for Saudi Arabia false: influence group
Washington Post publisher and chief executive Fred Ryan on Wednesday condemned U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision not to punish Saudi Arabia for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. “A clear and dangerous message has been sent to tyrants around the world: Flash enough money in front of the president of the United States, and you can literally get away with murder,” Ryan wrote in an opinion piece for the newspaper.In the article, Ryan described a statement by Trump in support of Saudi Arabia as “bizarre, inaccurate and rambling”.In “Statement from President Donald J. Trump on Standing with Saudi Arabia,” which was released Tuesday by the White House, Trump said: “King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman vigorously deny any knowledge of the planning or execution of the murder of Mr. Khashoggi. Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event – maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!”Trump maintained that the U.S. needs Saudi Arabia because of its oil, its willingness to counter Iran and its ability to counter terrorism in the region.Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist working for The Washington Post, was killed shortly after he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.Saudi Arabia offered shifting explanations for Khashoggi's disappearance before suggesting he was killed during a botched rendition operation by rogue agents.So far, 21 people, including security officers, have been arrested in Saudi Arabia in connection with the murder.“President Trump whitewashed the Saudi government’s brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi,” Ryan wrote.“Whatever objections people may have to our turning a blind eye to Khashoggi’s assassination, the president argued, they do not outweigh the (grossly inflated) revenue we can expect from U.S.-Saudi arms deals,” he added.The CIA recently released a report in which it concluded with high confidence that bin Salman ordered Khashoggi's murder.
Washington Post CEO slams Trump’s support of Saudis
"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is unified on this issue, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is committed to its leadership, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is committed to the vision that our leaders have put forth for us in terms of Vision 2030 and in terms of moving along the path of reform," Jubeir said.
The 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. President Donald Trump vowed on Tuesday to remain a “steadfast partner” of Saudi Arabia despite saying that Prince Mohammed may have known about the plan to murder Khashoggi.
"We have made it very clear that Saudi Arabia's government is not involved in this (Khashoggi's murder) and the crown prince is not involved in this, at all," Jubeir told CNBC.