King Salman of Saudi Arabia has made his son, Mohammed bin Salman, next in line to the throne.
Mohammed has replaced his cousin Prince Mohammed bin Nayef as crown prince, "removing any doubt of how succession plans will unfold following the reign of King Salman, now 81", says Bloomberg.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Crown Prince is "often charming in person, but analysts say his rapid rise has also created friction within the ruling family and made Saudi policy less predictable than in recent decades", says Reuters.
Who is Prince Mohammed?
Widely known by his initials MbS, Mohammed is Salman's youngest son and a favourite among his 13 children.
According to the Daily Telegraph, he "is an ambitious and aggressive reformer who hopes to transform his country's economy and lead it to a more assertive position on the world stage".
Like many Saudis of his generation, adds the paper, the Crown Prince is in favour of somewhat easing Saudi Arabia's strict social laws and "also sees a broader role for women in Saudi society".
What will change?
Bloomberg says the move suggests a "harder foreign policy line for Saudi Arabia in a region fraught with instability".
Prince Mohammed played a key role in the recent diplomatic offensive against Qatar, as well as pressing ahead with the war in Yemen.
He has also taken a hard line on Iran, saying in a television interview last month that dialogue with the Shiite power was impossible because it sought to take control of the Islamic world.
"We are a primary target for the Iranian regime," he told the New York Times, accusing Tehran of seeking to take over Islamic holy sites in Saudi Arabia, which is home to Mecca and Medina.
"We won't wait for the battle to be in Saudi Arabia. Instead, we'll work so that the battle is for them in Iran."
"The elevation of Mohammed Bin Salman to the Crown Prince will likely mean minimal change to oil production policy but could bring more aggressive foreign policy moves that bring back the political risk premium," said a research note published by RBC Capital Markets.
-
Grok in the crosshairs as EU launches deepfake porn probeIN THE SPOTLIGHT The European Union has officially begun investigating Elon Musk’s proprietary AI, as regulators zero in on Grok’s porn problem and its impact continent-wide
-
‘But being a “hot” country does not make you a good country’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Why have homicide rates reportedly plummeted in the last year?Today’s Big Question There could be more to the story than politics
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
