Alwaght- Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has sacked the kingdom's foreign minister amid international condemnation over the brutal murder of Saudi dissent journalist Jamal Khashoggi nearly three months ago.
Adel al-Jubeir, foreign minister since 2015, was replaced by Ibrahim al-Assaf, who was formerly a finance minister. Al-Jubeir demoted to a more advisory role as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. Assaf, was also detained briefly in a crackdown launched by the controversial Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last year. Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz was appointed minister of the Saudi National Guard; Hamad al-Sheikh was made education minister; and Turki al-Shabanah was given the information portfolio.
Thursday's decree also called for the establishment of the oil-rich kingdom's first government agency devoted to space exploration, to be headed up by Sultan bin Salman.
Khashoggi, a critic of the crown prince, was killed and dismembered by a team of Saudi agents in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.
The outrage over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia's Consulate in Istanbul has increased scrutiny on Riyadh's negative role in conflicts across the West Asia region.
