Alwaght-Inclusion
of descendants of Abdul Aziz in line of succession to Saudi throne has become
an important subject for the Saudi royal family and also for news media in the
recent years. Establishing the post of
deputy crown prince by King Abdullah was a mechanism for inclusion of
descendants of Abdul Aziz in line of succession to pave the way for Mutaib bin
Abdullah to become crown prince in the coming years. But Salman acceded to the
throne after the death of King Abdullah and Muqrin bin Abdulaziz became crown
prince. King Salman appointed interior minister and powerful member of Sudairi
faction Muhammad bin Nayef as deputy crown prince and second deputy prime
minister. Before appointment of Muhammad bin Nayef, analysts believed that two descendants
of Abdul Aziz are most likely to reach the post of deputy crown prince, namely Mutaib
bin Abdullah, the eldest son of King Abdullah and the Commander of Saudi
National Guard, and Muhammad bin Nayef, the former crown prince's son and Saudi
interior minister.
It can
be said that dismissal of Muqrin bin Abdulaziz and appointment of Muhammad bin
Nayef that put an end to the speculations, arise from two necessities at the
present time and in the near future. The first one is entering the third
generation of princes into the line of succession. In fact, appointment of Muhammad
bin Nayef prepared the ground for the descendants to become crown prince or
king in future years.
The
second one is strengthening the power of Salman by choosing a person from
Sudairi faction who has internal acceptability and also American officials
consider him a significant figure. Muhammad has been the political and security
deputy of his father in the interior ministry for several years and became
interior minister after dismissal of Ahmad in 2012. He has control over the
special forces of the interior ministry and is specifically in charge of
fighting with al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia.
He has been the target of several assassination attempts and has survived
all of them.
By
the appointment of Muhammad, supported by Wahhabis, as the crown prince and
deputy prime minister, King Salman intends to settle the issue of transition to
the third generation of crown prince. Therefore, strengthening
the power of Sudairi faction, it is likely to marginalize the sons of King
Abdullah.
