Alwaght- Octogenarian Saudi King Salman plans to relinquish his throne to his abrasive son in a move shake the Al-Saud dynasty and probably herald its downfall.
The Institute for [Persian] Gulf Affairs, quoting multiple highly-placed sources in Riyadh, revealed that the ailing King Salman is on the verge of abdicate to his son, Mohamed bin Salman is the current deputy crown prince, second in-line to the throne, and defense minister.
The reports notes that King Salman, 80, has been making the rounds visiting his brothers seeking support for the move that will also remove the current crown prince and American favorite, Mohammed bin Naif from his positions as the crown prince and the minister of interior.
Insider sources say, Salman who is thought to have Alzheimer's or dementia, told his brothers that the stability of the Saudi monarchy requires a change of the succession from lateral or diagonal lines to a vertical order under which the king hands power to his most eligible son.
Since the establishment of Saudi Arabia as an absolute monarchy in 1932, the throne was handed down from the founder King AdbulAziaz to his son Saud, then to his brothers Faisal, Khald, Fahd, Abdullah, then Salman, who became king on January 23, 2015. Salman is the last son of King AbdulAziz AlSaud to rule as king of Saudi Arabia. AbdulAziz is the only man in history who served as king and fathered six kings.
The current arrangement is that the throne will go to the nephew of King Salman, interior minister Mohamed bin Naif, who has been slowly marginalized by his younger cousin and the king’s son, Mohamed bin Salman.
Salman plans to abdicate and install his son as king while he is still alive to guarantee his offspring would not be marginalized and driven out of power like all the sons of former Saudi kings who lost power and influence after the death of their fathers.
The sources did not give a specific time line for the abdication but believed the matter will be concluded within a matter of weeks. The sources said that the king is spending hundreds of millions to buy support for his decision within the ruling family.
Several months ago a senior Saudi prince launched an unprecedented call for change in the country’s leadership, as it faces its biggest challenge in years in the form of war, plummeting oil prices and criticism of its management of Hajj.
The prince, one of the grandsons of the state’s founder, Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, told the Guardian that there is disquiet among the royal family – and among the wider public – at the leadership of King Salman, who acceded the throne in January 2015 following the death of his half brother, King Abdulaziz, at the age of 90.
The prince, who was not named for security reasons, wrote two letters earlier calling for the king to be removed.
“The king is not in a stable condition and in reality the son of the king [Mohammed bin Salman] is ruling the kingdom,” the prince complained.
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Ansarullah
A Zaidi Shiite movement operating in Yemen. It seeks to establish a democratic government in Yemen.
Shiite
represents the second largest denomination of Islam. Shiites believe Ali (peace be upon him) to be prophet"s successor in the Caliphate.
Resistance
Axis of Resistances refers to countries and movements with common political goal, i.e., resisting against Zionist regime, America and other western powers. Iran, Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas in Palestine are considered as the Axis of Resistance.
Persian Gulf Cooperation Council
A regional political u n i o n consisting of Arab states of the Persian Gulf, except for Iraq.
Taliban
Taliban is a Sunni fundamentalist movement in Afghanistan. It was founded by Mohammed Omar in 1994.
Wahhabism & Extremism
Wahhabism is an extremist pseudo-Sunni movement, which labels non-Wahhabi Muslims as apostates thus paving the way for their bloodshed.
Kurds
Kurds are an ethnic group in the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region, which spans adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. They are an Iranian people and speak the Kurdish languages, which form a subgroup of the Northwestern Iranian branch of Iranian languages.
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949.
Islamic Awakening
Refers to a revival of the Islam throughout the world, that began in 1979 by Iranian Revolution that established an Islamic republic.
Al-Qaeda
A militant Sunni organization founded by Osama bin Laden at some point between 1988 and 1989
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Saudi King Stepping Down for Son: Report
