Power Shift in Saudi Ruling Family Signifies Rift over Yemen Attack: Analyst
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A Middle East expert said the recent power changes in Saudi Arabia, namely King Salman’s decision to reset succession and dismiss a long-serving foreign minister, is a sign of discord within the royal family over Riyadh’s military campaign against Yemen.
“The recent big changes in Al Saud regime signify disagreement and polarization in the Saudi family,” Hassan Hanizadeh, a political analyst and Middle East expert told Tasnim.
“Since the outset of Saudi military attacks on the defenseless people of Yemen, Saudi Arabia’s ruling family was separated into two spectra of pros and cons,” he added.
The comments came after Saudi King Salman on Wednesday appointed his nephew and Interior Minister Mohammed bin Nayef, 55, as new crown prince and made his young son and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman, 30, second in line to rule.
In another big shift, Salman replaced veteran Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, who had served in the role since October 1975, with the kingdom's Washington ambassador Adel al-Jubeir, the first non-royal to hold the post.
Elsewhere in the interview, Hanizadeh said the Saudi king’s half-brother Prince Muqrin, who had been in line as successor, was replaced because of his opposition to the use of military force against Yemen.
Ailing Saud al-Faisal was also sacked because of his failure to form a political coalition against Yemenis, the analyst explained.
On March 26, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies began to launch deadly air strikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to the fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.
According to the spokesman of the Yemeni Army, the Saudi-led war on the Arab country has killed more than 2,000 people, most of them civilians.
