Rift Between Saudi King, Crown Prince Growing Since Khashoggi Murder

Salman is said to be outraged by the recent moves made by his son, MbS, The Guardian reported on Tuesday, hinting at growing signs of a potentially destabilizing rift between the king and his heir.

According to the piece published in the daily, the two have been disagreing on critical issues such as the war in Yemen, and the Saudi response to demonstrations in Sudan and Algeria. The king was also reported to be in disagreement with the crown prince over his "hardline approach to suppress the protests".

The rift is said to have been building since the brutal murder of Khashoggi in the Arab kingdom’s consulate in Turkish city of Istanbul in early October 2018, which was reportedly carried out at the order of MbS.

A source has told The Guardian that the tension between the king and the crown prince dramatically increased late February, when Salman visited Egypt and was warned by his advisers about the risk of a potential move against him.

His entourage was so alarmed at the possible threat to his authority that a new security team, comprised of more than 30 hand-picked loyalists from the interior ministry, was flown to Egypt to replace the existing team.

The move was made because “some of the original security staff might have been loyal to the prince”, the source added.

According to the source, the friction in the father-son relationship was underlined when the prince was not among those sent to welcome the king home.

While the king was abroad in Egypt, the crown prince assumed the role of "deputy king" and made some highly important decisions, such as appointing a female ambassador to the United States, and giving the post of minister of defense to his full brother Khalid bin Salman. According to The Guardian, Khalid's appointment to the post seriously angered the king, who thought it was a "premature move to elevate Prince Khalid to a more senior role".

The Saudi government has claimed that the murder of Khashoggi was carried out by "rogue" operatives and denied the involvement of MbS.

American legislators, however, have stressed that they believe MbS ordered the killing, but President Donald Trump has been reluctant to place blame. Also, a CIA report noted that MbS likely ordered Khashoggi's killing - an allegation Riyadh denies.

His body has never been found. Turkish investigators believe it was taken in bags from the consulate to the consulate general's residence a few hundred metres away and incinerated in a high-powered oven.

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