Saudi Crown Prince Accused by Former Official | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – A former Saudi government official claimed Monday that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman forged his father's signature on the royal decree that began the kingdom's years-long, stalled war against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia did not respond to questions about the allegations made without evidence by Saad al-Jabri in a BBC interview first published on Monday. Al-Jabri later confirmed the allegations in detail in a statement to The Associated Press.

The kingdom has described al-Jabri as a “discredited former government official.” Al-Jabri, a former major general and intelligence officer who lives in exile in Canada, has long been at odds with the kingdom over the imprisonment of his two children, which he describes as an attempt to lure him back to Saudi Arabia. Al-Jabri also claims the crown prince wants to assassinate him.

“I am not a dissident, nor did I voluntarily put myself in this situation,” al-Jabri told AP. “I was a senior Saudi official dedicated to protecting his country and recognized for saving thousands of Saudi and Western lives. Now I am a father doing everything possible to secure the release of his children.”

The accusation comes at a time when Prince Mohammed serves as Saudi Arabia's de facto leader, frequently meeting with heads of state in place of his father, 88-year-old King Salman.

Prince Mohammed's assertive demeanor, particularly at the beginning of his rise to power at the start of the Yemen war in 2015, has expanded to include a broader crackdown on any perceived dissent or power base that might challenge his rule.

Al-Jabri initially told the BBC that a “credible, reliable” official in the Saudi Interior Ministry had confirmed to him that Prince Mohammed had signed the war declaration decree on behalf of his father. Prince Mohammed was defense minister at the time.

Al-Jabri later told AP that he had reached an agreement with his U.S. counterparts in the then-Obama administration for Saudi Arabia to “launch an aerial bombardment campaign to eliminate the Houthi threat, create deterrence and force a political process without ground intervention.” His former boss, then-Saudi Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, then chaired a meeting in Saudi Arabia where the plan was formalized.

However, Prince Mohammed bin Salman reacted with “visible displeasure” at the meeting and said he could defeat the Houthis with a ground offensive in two months, al-Jabri claimed.

“Surprisingly, a royal order was later issued that overturned the agreed plan and authorized a ground operation – without the king's knowledge and with a forged signature,” al-Jabri told AP.

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on al-Jabri's claims.

The war against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, which began with the prince's public promise that it would soon be over, has now lasted for nearly a decade. The war has claimed over 150,000 lives and caused one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters.

Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who later served as King Salman's crown prince, was a trusted US confidant in the fight against al-Qaeda militants in the kingdom after the September 11, 2001 attacks. King Salman replaced the crown prince with his son in 2017, and Prince Mohammed bin Nayef is said to have been placed under house arrest.