It seems that the economic and political failure of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) have raised concern of prominent officials in Saudi army.
This explains the arrest campaign recently carried out by MBS security forces in the Kingdom targeting prominent military officials. Sources familiar with the matter confirmed that many of those arrested are loyal to former crown prince Mohammad bin Nayef.
Observers confirmed that Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz’s decision to appoint Prince Mohammad bin Nayef as crown prince in April 2015
was the start of the end.
Only two years later, a royal decree was issued to dismiss prince bin Nayef and appoint Prince Muhammad bin Salman, the king’s son, in his place in an attempt to tighten his grip on power.
Former Crown Prince Mohammad bin Nayef, who was also the Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, was held under house arrest in Jeddah.
Nayef was arrested along with three royal family members, including King Salman’s brother, Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, and his son, Prince Nayef bin Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, and Prince Muhammad bin Nayef, along with a number of military and security officials for allegedly being involved in a coup attempt against MBS.
The sources pointed out that the former crown prince was subjected to tough investigation and torture during his detention, where he became unable even to move alone amid calls for US President Joe Biden to intervene for his release.
According to the sources, Mohammad bin Nayef was held in a room with Turki Al Sheikh for hours to force him to sign a resignation letter and to declare loyalty to MBS. Nayef was threatened that his family members would be raped in case he refused to do so.
He was denied access to his drugs despite suffering high blood pressure and diabetes till morning. He was later allowed in to a neighboring room where MBS was waiting for him while his guard was holding a gun.
In a televised footage, broadcasted by the Saudi state-run TV channel, MBS appeared kissing his cousin. However, Nayef affirmed later in a leaked letter that a gun was pointed at him at that time.
Nayef was considered by the CIA as the most trusted Saudi man as he served as the kingdom’s interior minister since 2012, before being named as the crown prince in 2015.
In 2017, MBS was appointed a crown prince, who wasted no time pursuing his audacious goals. A few hours after his appointment, 40 Saudi princes, business leaders, and senior officials were arrested. The 2017 crackdown also included dozens of scholars, preachers, and human rights defenders.
