[ad_1]
Dubai: A former Saudi official claimed in a report that Kingdom of Saudi Arabiacrown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman forged his father's signature on Royal Decree Which sparked the kingdom's years-long war against Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations, made without supporting evidence by Saad al-Jabri in an interview published by the BBC on Monday, although the kingdom has described him as a “discredited former government official.” Al-Jabri, a former Saudi intelligence official living in exile in Canada, has been locked in a long-running dispute with the kingdom in which his two children were imprisoned in what he described as an attempt to lure him back to Saudi Arabia.
The claim comes as Prince Mohammed now serves as Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, often meeting with leaders in place of his 88-year-old father, King Salman. His assertive behavior, especially early in his rise to power in the early 2000s, has heightened tensions between him and the Saudi crown prince. Yemen war In 2015, his campaign expanded into a broader crackdown on any opposition or power base that might challenge his rule.
In statements to the BBC, Al-Jabri said that a “trusted” official linked to the Saudi Interior Ministry confirmed to him that Prince Mohammed signed the royal decree declaring war on behalf of his father.
“We were surprised by the issuance of a royal decree authorising ground interventions. He forged his father's signature on this royal decree. The king's mental capacity was deteriorating,” Al-Jabri told the BBC.
Al-Jabri's U.S.-based lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The war in Yemen against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, which began with Prince Mohammed’s promise to end it quickly, has dragged on for nearly a decade. It has killed more than 150,000 people and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, killing tens of thousands. Prince Mohammed was defense minister at the time.
Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis have also launched attacks on ships that have disrupted traffic through the Red Sea — and led to the most intense fighting the U.S. Navy has faced since World War II.
Al-Jabri once worked with former Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, a close US ally in the fight against al-Qaeda militants in the kingdom after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. King Salman replaced his son as crown prince in 2017, and Prince Mohammed bin Nayef is believed to have been under house arrest since then.
Al-Jabri had filed a lawsuit against Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a US federal court, alleging that the crown prince sought to kill him after he fled abroad.
Speaking to the BBC, Aljabri again alleged that Prince Mohammed had considered assassinating the former King Abdullah with a poisoned ring from Russia — a claim he made in a 2021 interview with CBS News. He also described his fears that the crown prince still wanted to kill him while his children remained imprisoned in the kingdom.
“He planned to assassinate me and he will not rest until he sees me dead, I have no doubt about that,” Al-Jabri told the BBC.
Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations, made without supporting evidence by Saad al-Jabri in an interview published by the BBC on Monday, although the kingdom has described him as a “discredited former government official.” Al-Jabri, a former Saudi intelligence official living in exile in Canada, has been locked in a long-running dispute with the kingdom in which his two children were imprisoned in what he described as an attempt to lure him back to Saudi Arabia.
The claim comes as Prince Mohammed now serves as Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, often meeting with leaders in place of his 88-year-old father, King Salman. His assertive behavior, especially early in his rise to power in the early 2000s, has heightened tensions between him and the Saudi crown prince. Yemen war In 2015, his campaign expanded into a broader crackdown on any opposition or power base that might challenge his rule.
In statements to the BBC, Al-Jabri said that a “trusted” official linked to the Saudi Interior Ministry confirmed to him that Prince Mohammed signed the royal decree declaring war on behalf of his father.
“We were surprised by the issuance of a royal decree authorising ground interventions. He forged his father's signature on this royal decree. The king's mental capacity was deteriorating,” Al-Jabri told the BBC.
Al-Jabri's U.S.-based lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The war in Yemen against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, which began with Prince Mohammed’s promise to end it quickly, has dragged on for nearly a decade. It has killed more than 150,000 people and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, killing tens of thousands. Prince Mohammed was defense minister at the time.
Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis have also launched attacks on ships that have disrupted traffic through the Red Sea — and led to the most intense fighting the U.S. Navy has faced since World War II.
Al-Jabri once worked with former Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, a close US ally in the fight against al-Qaeda militants in the kingdom after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. King Salman replaced his son as crown prince in 2017, and Prince Mohammed bin Nayef is believed to have been under house arrest since then.
Al-Jabri had filed a lawsuit against Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a US federal court, alleging that the crown prince sought to kill him after he fled abroad.
Speaking to the BBC, Aljabri again alleged that Prince Mohammed had considered assassinating the former King Abdullah with a poisoned ring from Russia — a claim he made in a 2021 interview with CBS News. He also described his fears that the crown prince still wanted to kill him while his children remained imprisoned in the kingdom.
“He planned to assassinate me and he will not rest until he sees me dead, I have no doubt about that,” Al-Jabri told the BBC.
[ad_2]
Source