IntelBrief: Saudi Crown Prince Elevated and Insulated from Accountability

Bottom Line up Front

• Saudi Arabia’s 86-year-old King Salman elevated his son, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS), to Prime Minister, virtually ensuring that there will not be a succession struggle for the Kingdom’s throne.
• The cabinet reshuffle includes replacing MBS as Defense Minister, a position closely associated with a failed Saudi war effort in neighboring Yemen.
• The elevation will not necessarily improve MBS’ standing in Washington or remove the hesitancy of many U.S. leaders to do “business as usual” with MBS, at least in the near term.
• The appointment will shield MBS from U.S.-based efforts to hold him legally accountable for the October 2018 killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.