Trump Congratulates New Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia

On Wednesday, June 21, the White House announced that Donald Trump, the President of the United States, congratulated Mohammed bin Salman on his selection as the new Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. According to reports from news agencies citing the White House statement, Mr. Trump and Mohammed bin Salman also discussed how to resolve the crisis in relations between Saudi Arabia and several other Arab countries with Qatar during a phone call on Wednesday. The U.S. President expressed hope for closer cooperation between Washington and Riyadh to advance common goals such as establishing security, stability, and prosperity in the Middle East. Mohammed bin Salman was appointed Crown Prince by his father, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, on Wednesday, replacing Mohammed bin Nayef. The official Saudi news agency reported that Mohammed bin Salman, while retaining his position as Minister of Defense and other roles, was also selected as Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister. Mohammed bin Nayef, who had been the Minister of Interior and was considered the top Saudi official in the country's counter-terrorism efforts, has been removed from his government positions. Previously, in May 2015, the King of Saudi Arabia issued a decree appointing Mohammed bin Nayef as the new Crown Prince, succeeding his half-brother, Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, a topic that received widespread coverage in international media. With Mohammed bin Nayef's appointment as Crown Prince, for the first time in Saudi history, one of Ibn Saud's (King Abdulaziz's) grandsons was on the path to the throne. Before this, the sons of Ibn Saud, the second-generation brothers of the Saudi family, had ascended to the throne. Mohammed bin Nayef is the nephew of King Salman. At that time, Mohammed bin Salman was appointed as the Deputy Crown Prince, and Adel al-Jubeir was appointed as Foreign Minister, replacing Saud al-Faisal. Reuters states that the recent developments in Saudi Arabia continue the major changes in the monarchy and governance of the country over the past two and a half years; changes that include the formation of a coalition led by Riyadh, military intervention in Yemen, cutting energy subsidies, and proposals for privatizing part of the country's oil company. Some observers describe Mohammed bin Salman as one of the architects of Saudi Arabia's military intervention in Yemen. He recently visited Washington and Moscow, where he met and discussed with Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, the Presidents of the United States and Russia. Meanwhile, according to Reuters, the Emir of Qatar congratulated Mohammed bin Salman on his selection as the new Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.