DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A former Saudi official alleged in a report that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman forged the signature of his father on the royal decree that launched the kingdom’s years-long, stalemated war against Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to a request for comment over the allegations made without supporting evidence by Saad al-Jabri in an interview published Monday by the BBC, though the kingdom has described him as “a discredited former government official.” Al-Jabri, a former Saudi intelligence official who lives in exile in Canada, has been in a years-long dispute with the kingdom, as his two children have been imprisoned in what he describes as an attempt to lure him back to Saudi Arabia.
The allegation comes as Prince Mohammed is serving as the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, often meeting with foreign leaders and diplomats in place of his father, the 88-year-old King Salman. His assertive behavior, particularly at the start of his ascension to power around the beginning of the Yemen civil war in 2015, extended to a wider crackdown on any perceived dissent or power base that could challenge his rule.
In al-Jabri’s remarks to the BBC, he said a “credible, reliable” official linked to the Saudi Interior Ministry confirmed to him that Prince Mohammed signed the royal decree declaring war in place of his father.
“We were surprised that there was a royal decree to allow the ground interventions,” al-Jabri told the BBC. “He forged the signature of his dad for that royal decree. The king’s mental capacity was deteriorating.”
A US-based lawyer for al-Jabri did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The war in Yemen against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels was launched with promises by the prince it would quickly be over, but has ground on for nearly a decade. The war has killed more than 150,000 people and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, killing tens of thousands more.
Prince Mohammed was the defense minister at the time.
The Houthis have also launched numerous attacks on international shipping over the last nine months, claiming that they are doing so in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip amid the war between Israel and Hamas. The attacks have disrupted traffic throughout the Red Sea and led to the most intense combat faced by the US Navy since World War II.
Al-Jabri previously worked for former crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef, a trusted confidant of the US in the battle against al-Qaeda in the kingdom after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
Al-Jabri once worked for former Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, a trusted confidant of the US in the battle against al-Qaeda in the kingdom after the September 11, 2001, attacks. King Salman relieved Prince Mohammed of all duties in 2017, and appointed his own son the crown prince in his stead. Prince Mohammed bin Nayef is believed to have been held under house arrest since 2020.
Al-Jabri had sued Prince Mohammed bin Salman in US federal court, alleging the crown prince sought to have him killed after he fled abroad.
Speaking to the BBC, al-Jabri again alleged Prince Mohammed considered assassinating former king Abdullah with a poison ring from Russia — something he claimed in a 2021 interview with CBS News. He also described his fears that the crown prince still wanted him killed as his children remain imprisoned in the kingdom.
“He planned for my assassination,” al-Jabri told the BBC. “He will not rest until he sees me dead. I have no doubt about that.”
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.