Saudi Arabia’s King Salman stripped-down Mohammed bin Nayef and appointed his son Mohammed bin Salman as the crown prince of the kingdom, placing him first-in-line to the throne.
The monarch stripped-down Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who had been positioned to inherit the throne, from his title as crown prince and from his position as kingdom’s interior minister overseeing security.
The new appointed Crown Prince is the defense minister and head of an economic council tasked with overhauling the country’s economy.
Previously he had been the second-in-line to the throne as deputy crown prince, though experts had long suspected his rise to power under his father’s reign. Bin Salman was little known to Saudi and the world before his father took over the throne in January 2015. He was in charge of his father’s royal court when Salman was the crown prince.
The Saudi monarch holds absolute power in the kingdom and he quickly awarded his son expansive powers to the surprise of many within the royal family who are more experienced than Bin Salman. The royal decree stated that “a majority” of senior royal members from the Allegiance Council supported the recasting of the line of succession.
The Allegiance Council is a body made up of the sons and prominent grandsons of the founder of the Saudi state, the late King Abdul-Aziz, who vote to pick the king and crown prince from among themselves.
Mohammed bin Nayef was not believed to have played a significant role in Saudi and Emirati-led efforts to isolate Qatar for its support of Islamist groups and ties with Iran.
In March, Mohammed bin Salman embarked on major overseas visits, including a trip to the White House to meet President Donald Trump. The visit lay the foundation for Trump’s Saudi visit last month.
Earlier, Mohammed bin Salman ruled out any chance of dialogue with Iran. In May he framed the tension with Iran in sectarian terms and said it is Iran’s goal ”to control the Islamic world” and to spread its Shiite doctrine. He also vowed to take ”the battle” to Iran.
AMandeep
