DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — On Monday, a former Saudi official made a shocking allegation. He claimed that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had fraudulently used his father’s signature on the royal decree that initiated the protracted and deadlocked war against Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
The Saudi Arabian government did not provide any response to the allegations made by Saad al-Jabri, which were presented without any supporting evidence during a BBC interview that was first aired on Monday. Al-Jabri later elaborated on these allegations in a detailed statement to the Associated Press.
The Saudi Arabian government has previously dismissed al-Jabri as “a discredited former government official.” Al-Jabri, who was a major general and intelligence official, now lives in exile in Canada. He has been embroiled in a lengthy dispute with the kingdom, as his two children have been incarcerated in what he describes as a ploy to entice him back to Saudi Arabia. Al-Jabri also claims that the crown prince is plotting his assassination.
“I did not choose to be a dissident, nor did I willingly put myself in this situation,” al-Jabri stated to the Associated Press. “I was a high-ranking Saudi official who devoted himself to protecting his country, and I am recognized for saving thousands of Saudi and Western lives. Now, I am a father doing everything in his power to secure the release of his children.”
These allegations come at a time when Prince Mohammed is serving as the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, often representing his father, King Salman, who is 88 years old, in meetings with other leaders.
Prince Mohammed’s assertive behavior, especially during his early rise to power around the start of the Yemen war in 2015, has led to a broader crackdown on any perceived dissent or power base that could potentially challenge his rule.
Al-Jabri initially informed the BBC that a “credible, reliable” official associated with the Saudi Interior Ministry confirmed to him that Prince Mohammed had signed the decree declaring war in his father’s stead. At the time, Prince Mohammed was serving as the defense minister.
Later, al-Jabri told the Associated Press that he had negotiated a deal with his U.S. counterparts in the then-Obama administration for Saudi Arabia to initiate “an aerial bombardment campaign to eliminate Houthi threats, establish deterrence and force a political process without a ground intervention.” His former superior, Saudi Arabia’s then-Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, subsequently chaired a meeting in Saudi Arabia to formalize this plan.
However, Prince Mohammed bin Salman reacted with “visible displeasure” at this meeting and asserted that he could defeat the Houthis in two months through a ground offensive, according to al-Jabri.
“Shockingly, a royal order was later issued, overriding the agreed plan and authorizing a ground operation — without the king’s knowledge and with a forged signature,” al-Jabri stated.
The U.S. State Department has not yet responded to a request for comment regarding al-Jabri’s allegations.
The war against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, which was publicly promised by the prince to be over quickly, has been ongoing for nearly a decade. The war has resulted in the deaths of more than 150,000 people and has led to one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises.
Since the beginning of the current Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis have launched attacks on shipping that have disrupted traffic through the Red Sea — leading to the most intense combat faced by the U.S. Navy since World War II.
Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who later served as a crown prince for King Salman, was a trusted ally of the U.S. in the fight against al-Qaida militants in the kingdom following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. In 2017, King Salman replaced the crown prince with his son, and Prince Mohammed bin Nayef is believed to have been placed under house arrest.
Al-Jabri filed a lawsuit against Prince Mohammed bin Salman in U.S. federal court, alleging that the crown prince had plotted to have him killed after he fled abroad. “He planned for my assassination,” al-Jabri told the BBC. “He will not rest until he sees me dead. I have no doubt about that.”
He expressed his fears that the crown prince still wants him assassinated as his adult children Sarah and Omar remain imprisoned in the kingdom, a concern he reiterated to the Associated Press.
“Remaining silent has only exacerbated the situation, so I had no choice but to speak out for the sake of my children and my country,” al-Jabri stated. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “initiated this unnecessary feud and has the power to end it immediately.”
Disagree, bad grammar and punctuation
Good punctuation and grammar, disagree.
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