Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – Social media activists interacted with allegations published by the British Guardian newspaper with an article regarding how the Saudi Crown Prince, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, came to the position of Crown Prince in the Kingdom.
CNN Arabic has reached out to the Saudi authorities for comment on the allegations in the article, with no response at this writing.
And the newspaper claimed in an article titled “The Godfather in the Saudi Way: Inside the Palace Coup that brought Mohammed bin Salman to power”: “The night before, June 20, 2017, Nayef, the king’s nephew, was forced to step down from assuming the Saudi throne in an episode he described One of those familiar with the affairs of the royal family told me that she is the “spiritual father, in the Saudi style.”
And the newspaper continued: “Nayef, who oversaw homeland security, was Saudi Arabia’s closest ally to the CIA. Earlier that year, then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo awarded him a medal in recognition of his counterterrorism efforts that saved American lives. Two years ago, following As King Salman took over his rule, Nayef became crown prince at the age of 55, making him next in line to the throne.But the behind-the-scenes feud was a fierce competition between Nayef and his cousin, the king’s son, Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS as he is known, that rose from obscurity to become Deputy Crown Prince.
And the Saudi monarch, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, had ordered, in a royal decree, to exempt Prince Muhammad bin Nayef from the mandate of the Covenant, and from the position of deputy prime minister and the position of minister of interior, and to choose Prince Muhammad bin Salman as crown prince, and to appoint him as deputy prime minister in addition to the Ministry of Defense. And his continuation in the other tasks assigned to him, according to what was published by the official Saudi Press Agency, “SPA”.
On June 21, 2017, the official Saudi Al-Ekhbariya channel published a clip of Prince Muhammad bin Nayef pledging allegiance to Muhammad bin Salman, and the latter responding to him and kissing his hand, stressing by saying: “We do not dispense with your directives and advice.”
It is noteworthy that Prince Muhammad bin Salman became prime minister by order of the Saudi monarch, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, last September, and the appointment of his brother, Prince Khalid bin Salman, to the position of Minister of Defense.
