Criticism of bin Salman increases after Aramco attacks

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): A number of Saudi royal family members have expressed frustration over Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MbS)'s ability to lead the kingdom following a devastating attack by the Yemeni forces on the Riyadh-owned oil sites, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

According to a senior foreign diplomat and five sources close to the ruling family, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity, the raids by Yemen has sparked anger among several prominent members of the Al Saud family and also some in elite circles who maintain the young crown prince has adopted an exaggeratedly aggressive foreign policy towards Iran.

“There is a lot of resentment” about MbS' leadership, said one of the sources, adding, “How were they not able to detect the attack?”

The source also stated that some people in elite circles have “no confidence” in the crown prince, an assertion echoed by the four other sources and the senior diplomat.

Several Yemeni drones targeted Aramco oil facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais in mid-September. The attacks shut down about 50 percent of the kingdom’s crude and gas production, and cut the state oil giant’s crude oil supply by around 5.7 million barrels per day. A return to normal production could take months, not weeks, according to reports.

Washington and Riyadh insist, without providing any reliable evidence, the Yemeni Houthi Ansarullah movement was incapable of launching such an elaborate assault, and accused Iran of being the perpetrator. France, Germany, and the UK have recently joined the US and Saudi Arabia in pinning the blame for the Yemeni raids on Tehran. Iran, however, has rejected the accusations of involvement in the attack on Aramco, saying the US and Saudi Arabia's allegations that Tehran was behind the Yemeni drone attacks are out of desperation.

Some Saudi critics say MbS's aggressive foreign policy towards Iran and involvement in the war in Yemen exposed the kingdom to attack, according to four of the sources with ties to the royals and business elite.

They also express frustration that the crown prince was unable to prevent the attacks despite spending hundreds of billions of dollars on defense, according to the five sources and one of the senior diplomats.

The crown prince, during a television interview aired on Sunday by US broadcaster CBS, stated that defending Saudi Arabia was difficult because of the kingdom's large size and the scale of threats it faces.

Saudi insiders and Western diplomats say the family is unlikely to oppose MbS while the king remains alive, recognising that the king is unlikely to turn against his favourite son.

The monarch has delegated most responsibilities of rule to his son but still presides over weekly cabinet meetings and receives foreign dignitaries.

Regardless of the king's future, the insiders and diplomats say, a challenge to MbS's authority could be difficult given his hold on the internal security structure.

Some royals view 77-year-old Prince Ahmad bin Abdulaziz, King Salman's only surviving full brother, as a possible alternative who would have support of family members, the security apparatus and some Western powers, according to two of the five sources with ties to Saudi elite.

Prince Ahmad has largely kept a low profile since returning to Riyadh in October 2018 after two and a half months abroad. During the trip, he appeared to criticize the Saudi leadership while responding to protesters outside a London residence chanting for the downfall of the Al Saud dynasty.

One of the five sources with ties to the Saudi elite stated that Prince Ahmad's position on whether he will challenge MbS is that he "will cross that bridge when we come to it".

The crown prince is officially next in line to the throne to his 83-year-old father, and is the de facto ruler of the country. He has pledged to transform the kingdom into a modern state.

The 34-year-old crown prince, who is popular among young Saudis, has received praise at home for easing social restrictions, granting women more rights and pledging to diversify Saudi Arabia's oil-dependent economy. But state control of the media and a crackdown on dissent in the kingdom make it difficult to gauge levels of genuine enthusiasm domestically.

He also came under international criticism over the murder a year ago of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom's Turjey's Istanbul consulate, which the US Central Intelligence Agency has stressed the crown prince ordered.

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