Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (; born 31 August 1985), also known as MBS or MbS, is the '' de facto'' ruler of the

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, formally serving as

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

and Prime Minister. He is the

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

to the Saudi throne, the seventh son of King Salman of Saudi Arabia, and the grandson of the nation's founder,

Ibn Saud Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (; 15 January 1875Ibn Saud's birth year has been a source of debate. It is generally accepted as 1876, although a few sources give it as 1880. According to British author Robert Lacey's book ''The Kingdom'', ...

. Mohammed is the first child of King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his third wife, Fahda bint Falah Al Hithlain. After obtaining a law degree from

King Saud University King Saud University (KSU, ) is a public university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1957 by King Saud bin Abdulalziz to address the country's skilled worker shortage, it is the first university in Saudi Arabia. It was known as Riyadh U ...

, he became an advisor to his father in 2009. He was appointed deputy crown prince and

defense minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

after his father became king in 2015, then promoted to crown prince in 2017. Mohammed succeeded his father as prime minister in 2022. Since his appointment as crown prince in 2017, Mohammed has introduced a series of social and economic reforms; these include curtailing the influence of the

Wahhabi Wahhabism is an exonym for a Salafi revivalist movement within Sunni Islam named after the 18th-century Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to other ...

religious establishment by restricting the powers of the religious police and improving

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

, removing the ban on female drivers in 2018, and weakening the male-guardianship system in 2019. However, he also continues to repress women's rights activists. His

Saudi Vision 2030 Saudi Vision 2030 (, sometimes called Project 2030) is a government program launched by Saudi Arabia which aims to achieve the goal of increased diversification economically, socially, and culturally, in line with the vision of Saudi crown pri ...

program aims to reduce the

Saudi economy The economy of Saudi Arabia is highly reliant on its petroleum sector. Oil accounts for approximately 30% of Saudi GDP and 55% of government revenue, with substantial fluctuations depending on oil prices each year. The kingdom has the seco ...

's reliance on oil through investment in other sectors such as technology and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

. Despite these attempts at greater economic diversification, the Saudi economy remains heavily reliant on oil. Under Mohammed, Saudi Arabia has pursued an "aggressive" foreign policy aimed at increasing the country's regional and international influence and attracting greater foreign investment.Understanding Saudi Arabia’s Recalibrated Foreign Policy
, Crisis Group The Kingdom has coordinated

energy policy Energy policies are the government's strategies and decisions regarding the Energy production, production, Energy distribution, distribution, and World energy supply and consumption, consumption of energy within a specific jurisdiction. Energy ...

with Russia, strengthened its relations with China, and expanded diplomatic and commercial relations with emerging economies and regional powers in Africa, South America, and Asia. Mohammed was the architect of the

Saudi-led intervention in Yemen On 26 March 2015, Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and North Africa, launched a military intervention in Yemen at the request of Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who had been ousted from the capital, Sa ...

and was involved in the escalation of the

Qatar diplomatic crisis The Qatar diplomatic crisis was a high-profile deterioration of relations between Qatar and the Arab League between 2017 and 2021. It began when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt simultaneously severed their bilateral relat ...

, as well as a 2018 diplomatic dispute with Canada. Mohammed leads an authoritarian government. Those regarded as

political dissidents Political dissent is a dissatisfaction with or opposition to the policies of a governing body. Expressions of dissent may take forms from vocal disagreement to civil disobedience to the use of violence.purge of competing Saudi political and economic elites, alleging that they were involved in corruption and seizing up to US$800 billion in assets and cash and cementing control over Saudi politics. A 2021 report by the United States

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

(CIA) found that Mohammed had ordered the assassination of journalist

Jamal Khashoggi Jamal Ahmad Hamza Khashoggi (13 October 1958 – 2 October 2018) was a Saudi journalist, Saudi dissidents, dissident, author, columnist for ''Middle East Eye'' and ''The Washington Post'', and a general manager and editor-in-chief of Al-Arab New ...

Early life, education and career

Mohammed bin Salman was born on 31 August 1985 to Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz (later King of Saudi Arabia) and his third wife, Fahda bint Falah Al Hithlain. He is the eldest of his mother's six children and the eighth child and seventh son of his father. His full siblings include Prince Turki and Defense Minister Prince Khalid. Mohammed holds a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in law from

, where he graduated second in his class.

Early career

After graduating from university, Mohammed spent several years in the private sector before becoming an aide to his father. He worked as a consultant for the Experts Commission, working for the Saudi Cabinet. On 15 December 2009, at the age of 24, he entered politics as a special advisor to his father when the latter was the governor of

Riyadh Province The Riyadh Province ( '), is a province of Saudi Arabia, located in the geographic center of the country and the center of the Arabian Peninsula. It has an area of and with a 2022 population of 8,591,748, it is the second-largest region by ar ...

. At this time, Mohammed began to move from one position to another, such as secretary-general of the Riyadh Competitive Council, special advisor to the chairman of the board for the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives, and a member of the board of trustees for Albir Society in the Riyadh region. In October 2011, Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz died. Prince Salman began his ascent to power by becoming second deputy prime minister and minister of defence. He made Mohammed his private advisor.

Chief of the Court

In June 2012, Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz died. Mohammed moved up into the number two position in the hierarchy, as his father became the new crown prince and first deputy prime minister. On 2 March 2013, Chief of the Crown Prince Court Saud bin Nayef Al Saud was appointed governor of the Eastern Province, and Mohammed succeeded him as chief of the court. He was also given the rank of minister. On 25 April 2014, Mohammed was appointed state minister.

Rise to power

Minister of Defence

On 23 January 2015, King Abdullah died and Salman ascended the throne. Mohammed was appointed minister of defence and secretary general of the royal court. In addition, he retained his post as the minister of state. The political unrest in Yemen (which began escalating in 2011) rapidly became a major issue for the newly appointed minister of defence, with Houthis taking control of northern Yemen in late 2014, followed by the resignation of President

Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi (born 1 September 1945) is a Yemeni politician and former military officer who served as the second president of Yemen from 2012 until his resignation in 2022. He previously served as the second vice president of Yemen fro ...

and his cabinet. Mohammed's first move as minister was to mobilise a pan-GCC coalition to intervene following a series of suicide bombings in the Yemeni capital

Sana'a Sanaa, officially the Sanaa Municipality, is the ''de jure'' capital and largest city of Yemen. The city is the capital of the Sanaa Governorate, but is not part of the governorate, as it forms a separate administrative unit. At an elevation ...

via air strikes against

Houthis The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, is a Zaydism, Zaydi Shia Islamism, Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s. It is predominantly made up of Zaydi Shias, with their namesake leadersh ...

, and impose a

naval blockade A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations ...

. In March 2015, Saudi Arabia began leading a coalition of countries allied against the Houthi rebels. While there was agreement among those Saudi princes heading security services regarding the necessity of a response to the Houthis' seizure of

, which had forced the Yemeni government into exile, Mohammed launched the intervention without full coordination across security services.

Saudi National Guard The Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG), also known as the White Army, is one of the three major branches of the military forces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The national guard is under the administrative control of the Ministry of National ...

minister Mutaib bin Abdullah Al Saud, who was out of the country, was left out of the loop of operations. While Mohammed sold the war as a quick win on Houthi rebels in Yemen and a way to put President Hadi back in power, however, it became a long

war of attrition The War of Attrition (; ) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from 1967 to 1970. Following the 1967 Six-Day War, no serious diplomatic efforts were made to resolve t ...

. In April 2015, King Salman appointed his nephew Muhammad bin Nayef as crown prince and his son Mohammed as deputy crown prince. In late 2015, at a meeting between his father and

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

, Mohammed bin Salman broke protocol to deliver a monologue criticising US foreign policy. When he announced an anti-terrorist military alliance of Islamic countries in December 2015, some countries involved said they had not been consulted. Regarding his role in the military intervention, Mohammed gave his first on-the-record interview on 4 January 2016 to ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'', which had called him the "architect of the war in Yemen". Denying the title, he explained the mechanism of the decision-making institutions actually holding stakes in the intervention, including the council of security and political affairs and the ministry of foreign affairs from the Saudi side. He added that the Houthis usurped power in Sana'a before he was minister of defence. In response to the threat from

ISIL The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signif ...

, Mohammed established the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC), a Saudi-led Islamic alliance against terrorism, in December 2015. The IMCTC's first meeting took place in Riyadh in November 2017 and involved defence ministers and officials from 41 countries.

Crown prince

Mohammed was appointed crown prince on 21 June 2017, following the King's decision to depose Muhammad bin Nayef and make his own son the heir to the throne. The change of succession had been predicted in December 2015 by an unusually blunt and public memo published by the German

Federal Intelligence Service The Federal Intelligence Service (, ; BND) is the foreign intelligence agency of Germany, directly subordinate to the Chancellor's Office. The BND headquarters is located in central Berlin. The BND has 300 locations in Germany and foreign cou ...

, which was subsequently rebuked by the German government. On the day Mohammed bin Salman became crown prince, US president

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

called him to "congratulate him on his recent elevation". Trump and Mohammed pledged "close cooperation" on security and economic issues, according to the White House, and the two leaders also discussed the need to cut off support for terrorism, the recent diplomatic dispute with Qatar, and the push to secure peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Mohammed told ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' in April 2017 that without America's cultural influence on Saudi Arabia, "we would have ended up like North Korea." In April 2022, Prince Mohammed met with newly elected Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the al-Salam palace.

2017 purge

In May 2017, Mohammed launched a purge against competing Saudi business and political elites under the auspices of anti-corruption. He said, "no one will survive in a corruption case—whoever he is, even if he's a prince or a minister". In November 2017, he ordered some 200 wealthy businessmen and princes to be placed under house arrest in The Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh. On 4 November 2017, the Saudi press announced the arrest of the Saudi prince and billionaire

Al-Waleed bin Talal Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud (; born 7 March 1955) is a Saudi Arabian billionaire businessman, investor, and a House of Saud royal. In 2008, he was listed on ''Time'' magazine's ''Time 100'', an annual list of the hundred most influential people ...

, a frequent English-language news commentator and a major shareholder in

Citi Citigroup Inc. or Citi (stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company based in New York City. The company was formed in 1998 by the merger of Citicorp, the bank holding company for Citibank, and ...

News Corp The second and current incarnation of News Corporation, doing business as News Corp, is an American mass media and publishing company headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The company was formed on ...

and Twitter, as well as over 40 princes and government ministers at the behest of the Crown Prince on corruption and

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

charges. Others arrested or fired in the purge included Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah, head of the Saudi Arabian National Guard; Minister of Economy and Planning Adel Fakeih; and the commander of the Royal Saudi Navy, Admiral Abdullah bin Sultan bin Mohammed Al-Sultan. Those arrested in the Ritz Carlton were the subject of what became called "the night of beating". Most were beaten, and some were tied to walls in stress positions as part of torture by Saudi agents. The interrogators knew very little outside of the victims' assets within Saudi Arabia and wanted to know more about their off-shore holdings, while the victims did not know why they were detained. The detainees were threatened with blackmail. At one point, the interrogators told the victims to contact their bank managers in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

and elsewhere and ask for large sums of money, and were surprised due to their inexpertise that the assets were not entirely in cash. Swiss banks identified some of the transactions as under

duress Coercion involves compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner through the use of threats, including threats to use force against that party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to i ...

and were able to stop some of them. During the proceedings, there was no

due process Due process of law is application by the state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to a case so all legal rights that are owed to a person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual p ...

nor

plea bargain A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include a ...

s. US officials described the actions as "coercion, abuse, and torture". Detainees were denied sleep, had their heads covered, and were beaten. Seventeen had to be hospitalised. After many days, the remaining detainees were moved to Al-Ha'ir Prison, while some released are banned from travelling abroad. The purge helped centralize political powers in the hands of Saudi ruler Mohammed bin Salman and undermine the pre-existing structure of consensus-based governance among Saudi elites. The arrests resulted in the final sidelining of the faction of King Abdullah, and Mohammed bin Salman's complete consolidation of control of all three branches of the security forces. It also cemented bin Salman's supremacy over business elites in Saudi Arabia and resulted in a mass seizure of assets by the bin Salman regime. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote: Writing for ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

'',

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

professor of Islam and Global Affairs, Muqtedar Khan, speculated as to whether the removal of Al-Waleed bin Talal, a critic of Donald Trump, amounted to a coup. BBC correspondent Frank Gardner was quoted as saying that "Prince Mohammed is moving to consolidate his growing power while spearheading a reform programme". Yet " is not clear what those detained are suspected of." Another hypothesis was that the purge was part of a move towards reform. Steven Mufson of ''The Washington Post'' argues that Mohammed "knows that only if he can place the royal family under the law, and not above as it was in the past, can he ask the whole country to change their attitudes relative to taxes ndsubsidies." An analysis from the

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

claimed that "the clampdown against corruption resonates with ordinary Saudis who feel that the state has been asking them to accept belt tightening while, at the same time, they see corruption and the power elite accumulating more wealth". Mohammed's reform agenda is widely supported by Saudi Arabia's burgeoning youth population, but faces resistance from some of the old guard more comfortable with the kingdom's traditions of incremental change and rule by consensus. According to a former British ambassador to Riyadh, Mohammed "is the first prince in modern Saudi history whose constituency has not been within the royal family, it's outside it. It's been young Saudis, particularly younger Saudi men in the street". Robert W. Jordan, former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said that "certainly Saudi Arabia has had a corruption problem for many years. I think the population, especially, has been very unhappy with princes coming in and grabbing business deals, with public funds going to flood control projects that never seem to get built... I would also say it's a classical power grab move sometimes to arrest your rivals, your potential rivals under the pretext of corruption". Trump expressed support for the move and confidence in the Saudi Arabian leaders, tweeting "Some of those they are harshly treating have been 'milking' their country for years!" French president

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...

, who visited Riyadh days after the purge, when asked about the purge stated "this is not the role of a president, and similarly I would not expect a leader of a foreign country to come and infringe on domestic matters." On 30 January 2019, the Saudi government announced the conclusion of the Anti-Corruption Committee's work. As many as 500 people were rounded up in the sweep. Saudi Arabian banks froze more than 2,000 domestic accounts as part of the crackdown. According to ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', the Saudi government targeted cash and assets worth up to $800 billion. The Saudi authorities claimed that amount was composed of assets worth around $300 billion to $400 billion that they can prove was linked to corruption.

Prime Minister

On 27 September 2022, Mohammed was appointed as

Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia The prime minister of Saudi Arabia () is the chairman of the Council of Ministers of Saudi Arabia, Council of Ministers and head of government of the Saudi Arabia. The prime minister is always either the king of Saudi Arabia or Crown Prince of S ...

by King Salman. Traditionally, the king has held the title of prime minister.

Administration

Ideology

Mohammed's ideology has been described as

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

and

populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...

, with a conservative attitude towards politics, and a liberal stance on economic and social issues. It has been heavily influenced by the views of his former adviser

Saud al-Qahtani Saud bin Abdullah al-Qahtani (born July 7, 1978) is a Saudi Arabian consultant and former royal court advisor. Prior to his dismissal in late 2018, he worked as an advisor to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. ...

and the ruler of

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

, Mohammed bin Zayed. His style of ruling has been described as extremely brutal by journalist Rula Jebreal and authoritarian by

and Theodor Winkler. Mohammed bin Salman has also been championing an

Arab nationalist Arab nationalism () is a political ideology asserting that Arabs constitute a single nation. As a traditional nationalist ideology, it promotes Arab culture and civilization, celebrates Arab history, the Arabic language and Arabic literatur ...

ideology domestically and through foreign policy; with a focus on opposing Islamist movements.

Authoritarianism

Mohammed heads a repressive authoritarian government in Saudi Arabia. Human rights activists and women's rights activists in Saudi Arabia have faced abuse and torture by the regime. Critics, journalists and former insiders are tortured and killed. The government has targeted Saudi dissidents who are located abroad. Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist of ''

'', was murdered by the regime. Mohammed has justified the mass arrests of human rights activists as being as necessary for enacting reforms in Saudi Arabia and for establishing a state based on

Arab nationalism Arab nationalism () is a political ideology asserting that Arabs constitute a single nation. As a traditional nationalist ideology, it promotes Arab culture and civilization, celebrates Arab history, the Arabic language and Arabic literatur ...

. Mohammed has increasingly consolidated power in Saudi Arabia during his tenure as leader. He significantly restricted the powers of the Saudi religious police. On 29 January 2015, Mohammed was named the chair of the newly established Council for Economic and Development Affairs, replacing the disbanded Supreme Economic Commission. In April 2015, Mohammed was given control over

Saudi Aramco Saudi Aramco ( ') or Aramco (formerly Arabian-American Oil Company), officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a majority state-owned petroleum and natural gas company that is the national oil company of Saudi Arabia. , it is the fourth- l ...

by royal decree following his appointment as deputy crown prince.

Domestic policies

Religious policy

According to David Ottaway of the

Wilson Center The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS) or Wilson Center is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank dedicated to research and policy discussions on global issues. Established by an act of Congress in 1968, it serves as both ...

, " all ohammed'sdomestic reforms," the most "consequential" has been his work limiting the influence of Saudi Wahhabi clergy, "who still command millions of followers in the country and beyond". Mohammed's inviting of "a constant stream of Western male and female singers, bands, dancers and even American female wrestlers" to perform in Saudi Arabia is in complete conflict with religious conservatives who have spoken "against the opening up of the kingdom to

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

Western culture Western culture, also known as Western civilization, European civilization, Occidental culture, Western society, or simply the West, refers to the Cultural heritage, internally diverse culture of the Western world. The term "Western" encompas ...

". Under Mohammed, the Saudi government has promoted a new Saudi identity and nationalist history that downplays religious heritage and restricts Islamic influence in the cultural sphere. Journalist Graeme Wood writes, "it is hard to exaggerate how drastically this sidelining of

Islamic law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, intan ...

will change Saudi Arabia." Gabriella Perez argues that the new social changes implemented by MBS are oriented towards secularist repression, with the potential to adversely impact

freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...

in the country. In a 2018 interview with ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'' editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, Mohammed stated regarding his basic approach to religion in Saudi Arabian society:

"We believe we have, in Saudi Arabia,
Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
and
Shiite Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...
. We believe we have within Sunni Islam four schools of thought, and we have the ''
ulema In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...
'' he religious authoritiesand the Board of Fatwas hich issues religious rulings.. our laws are coming from
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
and the ''
Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...
'', but we have the four
schools A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of ...
—
Hanbali The Hanbali school or Hanbalism is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence, belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It is named after and based on the teachings of the 9th-century scholar, jurist and tradit ...
,
Hanafi The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...
,
Shafi’i The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionist al ...
,
Maliki The Maliki school or Malikism is one of the four major madhhab, schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas () in the 8th century. In contrast to the Ahl al-Hadith and Ahl al-Ra'y schools of thought, the ...
—and they argue about interpretation. And you will find a Shiite in the cabinet, you will find Shiites in government, the most important university in Saudi Arabia is headed by a Shiite. So we believe that we are a mix of Muslim schools and sects."

Restrictions on religious police

In 2016, Mohammed took steps to drastically curtail the powers of the " Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice" (CPVPV), or Islamic religious police. The "feared" CPVPV, which had thousands of officers on the streets and powers to arrest, detain, and interrogate those suspected of violating sharia, was banned "from pursuing, questioning, asking for identification, arresting and detaining anyone suspected of a crime". The cinema industry was reinstated, social liberties were expanded, gender mixing and

dating Dating is a stage of Romance (love), romantic relationships in which individuals engage in activity together, often with the intention of evaluating each other's suitability as a partner in a future intimate relationship. It falls into the cate ...

have been normalised by the state in the public sphere. Schmidt-Feuerheerd argues that the new state policies are also accompanied by an increasing clampdown on political and religious activities independent of the government.

Changes to legal system

Mohammed has stated that "in Islamic law, the head of the Islamic establishment is ''wali al-amr'' (Arabic: وَلِيّ الأمر ), the ruler. While Saudi rulers "have historically stayed away from religion", and "outsourced" issues of theology and religious law to "the big beards", traditionally conservative and orthodox religious scholars, Mohammed has "a law degree from King Saud University" and "flaunts his knowledge and dominance over the clerics", according to Graeme Wood. He is "probably the only leader in the Arab world who knows anything about Islamic epistemology and jurisprudence", according to American historian Professor Bernard Haykel. In an interview televised in Saudi Arabia on 25 April 2021, Mohammed criticised the devotion of Saudi religious leaders to

doctrines "in language never before used by a Saudi monarch", saying "there are no fixed schools of thought and there is no infallible person", and that

fatwa A fatwa (; ; ; ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia) given by a qualified Islamic jurist ('' faqih'') in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a ''mufti'', ...

s "should be based on the time, place and mindset in which they are issued", rather than regarded as immutable. In interviews with Wood, Mohammed

explained that
Islamic law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, intan ...
is based on two textual sources: the
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
and the
Sunnah is the body of traditions and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad that constitute a model for Muslims to follow. The sunnah is what all the Muslims of Muhammad's time supposedly saw, followed, and passed on to the next generations. Diff ...
, or the example of the Prophet
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
, gathered in many tens of thousands of fragments from the Prophet's life and sayings. Certain rules—not many—come from the unambiguous legislative content of the Quran, he said, and he cannot do anything about them even if he wants to. But those sayings of the Prophet (called
Hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...
), he explained, do not all have equal value as sources of law, and he said he is bound by only a very small number whose reliability, 1,400 years later, is unimpeachable. Every other source of Islamic law, he said, is open to interpretation—and he is therefore entitled to interpret them as he sees fit. The effect of this maneuver is to chuck about 95 percent of Islamic law into the sandpit of Saudi history and leave MBS free to do whatever he wants. "He's short-circuiting the tradition," Haykel said. ".. That leaves him to determine what is in the interest of the Muslim community. If that means opening movie theaters, allowing tourists, or women on the beaches on the Red Sea, then so be it.”

As of early 2021, Mohammed has "ordered a codification of Saudi laws that would end the power of individual Wahhabi judges to implement" their own interpretation of Sharia. According to Wood, many conservative clerics strongly appear to have succumbed to "good old-fashioned intimidation" by the government to reverse their religious positions and supporting the government line on issues such as "the opening of cinemas and mass layoffs of Wahhabi imams".

Abaya ban

In December 2022, Saudi Arabia's Education and Training Evaluation Commission (ETEC) declared a governmental ban on Muslim female students from wearing the traditional ''

abaya The abaya (colloquially and more commonly, ', especially in Literary Arabic: '; plural ', '), sometimes also called an aba, is a simple, loose over-garment, essentially a robe-like dress, worn by some women in the Muslim world including m ...

'' clothing to examination centres; insisting that students should wear only school uniforms. A later clarification from ETEC reported by ''The Milli Chronicle'' stated that the ban on ''abayas'' was restricted only for all-female examination centres run by the ETEC.

Economic policy

Vision 2030

Mohammed took the leadership in the restructuring of Saudi Arabia's economy, which he officially announced in April 2016 when he introduced Vision 2030, the country's strategic orientation for the next 15 years. Vision 2030 plans to reform Saudi Arabia's economy towards a more diversified and

privatised Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation wh ...

structure. It details goals and measures in various fields, from developing non-oil revenues and privatisation of the economy to e-government and

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

. One of the major motives behind this economic restructure through Vision 2030 can be traced back to Saudi Arabia's reliance on a rentier economy, as a limit on oil resources makes its sustainability a problem in the future. While the country claims to own a proven reserve of 266.58 billion barrels of crude oil, the energy analyst Matthew R. Simmons estimates the true number to be far less, as the last non-Saudi report by the

General Accounting Office The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan government agency within the legislative branch that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the sup ...

in 1978 only mentioned 110 billion barrels. At the inaugural Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh in October 2017, Mohammed announced plans for the creation of

Neom Neom (styled NEOM; , ) is an arcology and planned city being built by Saudi Arabia in Tabuk Province. Launched in 2017 by crown prince Mohammad bin Salman, the site is at the northern tip of the Red Sea, due east of Egypt across the Gulf of A ...

, a $500 billion economic zone to cover an area of 26,000 square kilometres on Saudi Arabia's

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

coast, extending into Jordan and Egypt. Neom aims to attract investment in sectors including

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

(especially genetically modified agriculture), robotics and advanced manufacturing. The announcement followed plans to develop a 34,000 square kilometre area across a lagoon of 50 islands on Saudi Arabia's

coastline into a luxury tourism destination with laws on a par with international standards. In a further effort to boost the tourism industry, in November 2017 it was announced that Saudi Arabia would start issuing tourist visas for foreigners, beginning in 2018. Mohammed's biggest bet was his plan to restore Saudi dominance in global oil markets by driving the new competition into bankruptcy, by keeping the oil price low enough for a long enough period. Saudi Arabia persuaded OPEC to do the same. A few small players went bankrupt, but American frackers only shut down their less-profitable operations temporarily, and waited for oil prices to go up again. Saudi Arabia, which had been spending $100 billion a year to keep services and subsidies going, had to admit defeat in November 2016. It then cut production significantly and asked its OPEC partners to do the same. In the last week of September 2018, Mohammed inaugurated the much-awaited $6.7bn

high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail transport network utilising trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated railway track, tracks. While there is ...

way line connecting

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

and

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

, the two holiest cities of Islam. The Haramain Express is 450 km line travelling up to 300 km/h that can transport around 60 million passengers annually. The commercial operations of the railway began on 11 October 2018. In October 2018, Mohammed announced that the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia's assets were approaching $400 billion and would pass $600 billion by 2020. Mohammed announced a project to build Saudi Arabia's first nuclear reactor in November 2018. The kingdom aims to build 16 nuclear facilities over the next 20 years. Efforts to diversify the Saudi energy sector also include wind and solar, including a 1.8 gigawatt solar plant announced in the same month as part of a long-term project in partnership with

SoftBank is a Japanese multinational Investment company, investment holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, that focuses on investment management. The group primarily invests in companies operating in technology that offer goods and services ...

Saudi petroleum industry

Saudi Arabia,

OPEC The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC ) is an organization enabling the co-operation of leading oil-producing and oil-dependent countries in order to collectively influence the global oil market and maximize Profit (eco ...

's largest producer, has the second-largest amount of

oil reserves An oil is any chemical polarity, nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobe, hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilicity, lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable ...

in the world. On 28 September 2021,

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, met with Mohammed in Saudi Arabia to discuss the high

oil prices The price of oil, or the oil price, generally refers to the spot price of a barrel () of benchmark crude oil—a reference price for buyers and sellers of crude oil such as West Texas Intermediate (WTI), Brent Crude, Dubai Crude, OPE ...

. In October 2022 in protest of Saudi Arabia cutting oil production,

US National Security Council The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the national security council used by the president of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and foreign policy matters. Based in the White House, it is part ...

spokesman John Kirby said Saudi Arabia knew the cut would "increase Russian revenues and blunt the effectiveness of sanctions" and accused Saudi Arabia of "coercing" other oil producing countries to agree. The record-high energy prices were driven by a global surge in demand as the world quit the economic recession caused by COVID-19, particularly due to strong energy demand in Asia. The relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia evolved under Mohammed, granting the two nations the ability to coordinate in oil export decisions.

Sport sector

Mohammed has presided over unprecedented spending on sport since becoming Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler in 2017. He has also been assiduous in striking deals to bring top sports events to Saudi, including the

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The compe ...

2034 The 2030s (pronounced "twenty-thirties" or "two thousand ndthirties"; shortened to "the '30s" and also known as "The Thirties") is the next decade that will begin on 1 January 2030, and end on 31 December 2039. Plans and goals * NASA plans to exe ...

and the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

in 2029. In 2023, Mohammed said this approach is central to the country's goal of becoming one of the world's top 10 tourist destinations, stating: "When you want to diversify an economy you have to work in all sectors: mining, infrastructure, manufacturing, transportation, logistics all this… Part of it is tourism and if you want to develop tourism part of it is culture, part of it is your sport sector, because you need to create a calendar."

Domestic reforms

Mohammed established an entertainment authority that began hosting comedy shows, professional wrestling events, and monster truck rallies. In 2016, he shared his idea for "

Green card A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...

s" for non-Saudi foreigners with

Al Arabiya Arabiya (, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is a Saudi state-owned international Arabic news television channel. It is based in Riyadh and is a subsidiary of MBC Group. The channel is a flagship of the media c ...

journalist Turki Aldakhil. In 2019 the Saudi cabinet approved a new residency scheme ( Premium Residency) for foreigners. The scheme will enable expatriates to permanently reside, own property and invest in the Kingdom. The first measures undertaken in April 2016 included new taxes and cuts in subsidies, a diversification plan, the creation of a $2 trillion Saudi

sovereign wealth fund A sovereign wealth fund (SWF), or sovereign investment fund, is a state-owned investment fund that invests in real and financial assets such as stocks, Bond (finance), bonds, real estate, precious metals, or in alternative investments such as ...

, and a series of strategic economic reforms called the National Transformation Programme. Mohammed's plans to raise capital for the sovereign wealth fund included selling off shares of

, the state-owned petroleum and natural gas company, with the capital to be re-invested in other sectors such as to implement the diversification plans. In October 2017, the plan for Aramco's IPO listing was criticised by ''The Economist'', which called it "a mess". Mohammed slashed the state budget, freezing government contracts and reducing the pay of civil employees as part of drastic austerity measures. In April 2017, Mohammed announced a project to build one of the world's largest cultural, sports and entertainment cities in Qiddiya, southwest of

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

. The plans for a 334-square kilometre city include a safari and a

Six Flags Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It was formed on July 2, 2024, following a merger between longtime rivals Cedar Fair and the former Six Flags ...

theme park. In October 2017, Mohammed said that the ultra-conservative Saudi state had not been "normal" for the past 30 years, blaming rigid doctrines that had governed society in a reaction to the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

, which successive leaders "didn't know how to deal with". He stated that he aimed to have Saudi Arabia start "returning to what we were before—a country of moderate Islam that is open to all religions and to the world". This amounted to telling the country's clerics that the deal the royal family struck with them after the Grand Mosque seizure was to be renegotiated. Building an industrial culture was seen as incompatible with

Wahhabism Wahhabism is an exonym for a Salafi revivalist movement within Sunni Islam named after the 18th-century Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to oth ...

. The Wahhabis were committed to fixed social and gender relationships. These were consistent with an economy built on oil sales, but industrialization requires a dynamic culture with social relations constantly shifting. The regime's commitment to "moderate Islam" and secularization drive through repressive methods has been questioned. Further cultural transformations followed in December 2017 with Saudi Arabia's first public concert by a female singer, and in January 2018 a sports stadium in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

became the first in the Kingdom to admit women. In April 2018, the first public cinema opened in Saudi Arabia after a ban of 35 years, with plans to have more than 2,000 screens running by 2030. In an interview with a

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

'' that aired on 29 September 2019, Mohammed invited people to visit the kingdom to see the transformation, asking for people to meet Saudi citizens for themselves. On 26 April 2020, the

Supreme Judicial Council of Saudi Arabia Supreme Council of Magistracy of Saudi Arabia () is a seven-eleven member council appointed by the King in the Legal system of Saudi Arabia, legal system of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It supervises the Legal system of Saudi Arabia, lower courts o ...

abolished

flogging Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed ...

as a punishment in the country, stating that the decision was "an extension of the human rights reforms introduced under the direction of King Salman and the direct supervision of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman". The following day, the Human Rights Commission of Saudi Arabia reported the enactment of a

royal decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary l ...

abolishing the death penalty for crimes committed by minors.

Human rights

Early in his leadership tenure, Mohammed sought to cultivate an image of Saudi Arabia as implementing various reforms. Human rights groups say that repression has worsened under his tenure. According to human rights groups, arrests of human rights activists have risen under Mohammed. He has reportedly created the

Tiger Squad The Tiger Squad (, '), also known as UNIT 1103, and officially called the Rapid Intervention Force (Arabic: قوة التدخل السريع, ''Quat al-Tadakhul al-Sarie''), is a military unit under the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin ...

, a team of assassins that act as a

death squad A death squad is an armed group whose primary activity is carrying out extrajudicial killings, massacres, or enforced disappearances as part of political repression, genocide, ethnic cleansing, or revolutionary terror. Except in rare cases in w ...

, to target Saudi critics inside and outside Saudi Arabia. Among those detained in a wave of arrests in September 2017 were Abdulaziz al-Shubaily, a founding member of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA); Mustafa al-Hassan, an academic and novelist; and Essam al-Zamel, an entrepreneur. Ahead of the lifting of the ban on women driving in June 2018, 17 women's rights activists were arrested, including the women to drive and anti-male guardianship campaigner Loujain al-Hathloul. Eight of the 17 were subsequently released. Hatoon al-Fassi, an associate professor of women's history at King Saud University, was arrested shortly afterwards. In August that year, the human rights activist Israa al-Ghomgham and her husband, both arrested in 2015, were put under legal threat of beheading.

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

warned that the al-Ghomgham case set a "dangerous precedent" for other women activists currently detained. HRW's Middle East director Sarah Leah Whitson said, "Any execution is appalling, but seeking the death penalty for activists like Israa al-Ghomgham, who are not even accused of violent behaviour, is monstrous. Every day, the Saudi monarchy's unrestrained despotism makes it harder for its public relations teams to spin the fairy tale of 'reform' to allies and international business." On 23 April 2019, 37 people, mostly

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

human rights activists involved in the Qatif conflict, were executed in one of the largest mass executions of the minority sect in the kingdom's history. In August 2019, Loujain al-Hathloul's brother Walid informed the media that his sister was offered release on the condition that she deny the human rights abuses committed against her in Saudi prison. Walid wrote on Twitter that the Saudi state security laid a proposal for Loujain to sign a document and appear on camera to deny that she had been tortured and sexually harassed in jail. He stated that Loujain mentioned to the family that she had been whipped, beaten, electrocuted in a chair, and harassed by masked men, who would wake her up in the middle of the night to shout threats at her in cell. Walid also tweeted that Loujain refused the offer proposed by Saudi authorities and "immediately ripped the document". In response to foreign criticism and women's rights activism, Mohammed has implemented modest reforms to improve women's rights in Saudi Arabia. In September 2017, he implemented the women to drive movement's multi-decade demand to lift the ban on female drivers. He legislated against some elements of Saudi Arabia's

Wali The term ''wali'' is most commonly used by Muslims to refer to a saint, or literally a "friend of God".John Renard, ''Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008); John ...

system, also a topic of a decades-long campaign by women's rights activists. In response to the Saudi anti male-guardianship campaign, the Saudi government enacted a law that allows women above 21 years old to obtain passports and travel abroad without needing the permission of their male guardians. In February 2018, it became legally possible for Saudi women to open their own business without a male's permission. According to the Saudi Information Ministry, , mothers in Saudi Arabia became authorised to retain immediate custody of their children after divorce without having to file any lawsuits. In February 2017, Saudi Arabia appointed its first woman to head the

Saudi Stock Exchange Saudi Exchange () or Tadāwul () is a stock exchange in Saudi Arabia. Tadāwul was formed in 2007 as a joint stock company and the sole entity authorized to act as a securities exchange in Saudi Arabia, but trading began in 1954 as an informal f ...

Arrest of Muhammad bin Nayef

Muhammad bin Nayef was arrested on 6 March 2020, along with his half-brother Nawwaf bin Nayef and King Salman's brother Ahmed bin Abdulaziz. The three princes were charged with treason. The Saudi government claimed the princes were trying to overthrow Mohammed bin Salman.

Accusations of poisoning attempt against King Abdullah

In 2021, the former Saudi intelligence official Saad al-Jabri said in an interview with CBS that Mohammed bin Salman mentioned to Interior Minister Muhammad bin Nayef Al Saud plans to kill King Abdullah in 2014. This would allow Mohammed's father to take the throne. Al-Jabri has called Mohammed "a psychopath, killer ... with infinite resources, who poses threat to his people, to the Americans and to the planet". Mohammed has rejected all allegations; the Saudi embassy called al-Jabri "a discredited former government official with a long history of abrication.

Foreign policy

Interventions in Syria and Yemen

Some have called Mohammed the architect of the war in Yemen. On 10 January 2016, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' reported that "the BND, the German intelligence agency, portrayed...Saudi defence minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman...as a political gambler who is destabilising the Arab world through proxy wars in Yemen and Syria." German officials reacted to the BND's memo, saying the published statement "is not the position of the federal government". Bin Salman - the Butcher of Yemen

Mohammed leads the

against the Houthi rebels, who in 2015 seized Sana'a and ousted the Saudi-backed Hadi government, ending multilateral efforts towards a political settlement following the 2011 Yemeni uprising. Coalition airstrikes during the intervention have resulted in thousands of civilians killed or injured, prompting accusations of

war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

s in the intervention. Following a Houthi missile attack against Riyadh in December 2017, which was intercepted by Saudi air defence, airstrikes killed 136 Yemeni civilians and injured 87 others in eleven days. In August 2018, the United Nations reported that all parties in the conflict were responsible for human rights violations and for actions which could be considered war crimes. The war and

blockade of Yemen The blockade of Yemen refers to a sea, land and air blockade on Yemen which started with the positioning of Saudi Arabian warships in Yemeni waters in 2015 with the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen. In November 2017, after a Houthi missil ...

has cost Saudi Arabia tens of billions of dollars, further aggravated the

humanitarian crisis A humanitarian crisis (or sometimes humanitarian disaster) is defined as a singular event or a series of events that are threatening in terms of health, safety or well-being of a community or large group of people. It may be an internal or exter ...

in the country and destroyed much of Yemen's infrastructure, but failed to dislodge the Shiite Houthi rebels and their allies from the Yemeni capital. More than 50,000 children in Yemen died from

starvation Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy intake, below the level needed to maintain an organism's life. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, de ...

in 2017. From 2015 to May 2019 the number of total deaths of children is said to be approximately 85,000. The

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

in Yemen is the direct result of the Saudi-led intervention and

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are ...

of the rebel-held area. In October 2018,

Lise Grande Lise Grande is an American who became the president of the United States Institute of Peace on December 1, 2020. She previously served abroad in several positions for the United Nations managing operations including in South Sudan, India, Iraq an ...

, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, warned that 12 to 13 million Yemenis were at risk of starvation if the war continued for another three months. On 28 March 2018, Saudi Arabia, along with its coalition partner the UAE, donated US$930 million to the United Nations which, according to

UN secretary-general The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...

, "...(will) help to alleviate the suffering of millions of vulnerable people across Yemen". The funds cover almost one-third of the $2.96 billion required to implement the UN's 2018 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan. Following the Houthi missile attack against Riyadh in December 2017, which was intercepted by Saudi air defence, Mohammed retaliated with a ten-day barrage of indiscriminate airstrikes against civilian areas in Yemen held by Houthi forces, killing dozens of children. Following the

assassination of Jamal Khashoggi On 2 October 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident journalist, was killed by agents of the Saudi government at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Khashoggi was ambushed and strangled by a 15-member squad of Saudi operatives. His body w ...

, the

United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of the United States Senate, U.S. Senate charged with leading Foreign policy of the United States, foreign-policy legi ...

approved a resolution to impose sanctions on people blocking humanitarian access in Yemen and suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Senator

Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin Graham (; born July 9, 1955) is an American politician and attorney serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A membe ...

said the

Saudi Arabia–United States relations Bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States began in 1933 when full Diplomacy, diplomatic relations were established. These relations were formalized under the 1951 Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement. Despite the differe ...

hip "is more of a burden than an asset." He also said, "The crown prince f Saudi Arabiais so toxic, so tainted, so flawed." Andrew Smith, of Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), said that British foreign secretaries

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

and

Jeremy Hunt Sir Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt (born 1 November 1966) is a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2022 to 2024 and Foreign Secretary from 2018 to 2019, having previously served as Secretary of State for Health a ...

"have played an utterly central and complicit role in arming and supporting the Saudi-led destruction of Yemen." Hunt's Conservative leadership campaign was partly funded by a close associate to Mohammed. On 16 August 2020, a lawsuit filed by a former top intelligence official, Saad al-Jabri, revealed that in 2015 Mohammed secretly called for Russia to intervene in Syria at a time when

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

's regime was close to falling apart. The Saudi monarchy had been supporting anti-Assad rebels, including

Ahrar al-Sham Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya (), commonly referred to as Ahrar al-Sham, was a coalition of multiple Sunni Islamist units that coalesced into a single brigade and later a division in order to fight against the Syrian Government led by Bas ...

, while Russian and Syrian forces were bombing rebel-held cities in support of Assad, killing tens of thousands of Syrian civilians in the process. Western diplomats say that Mohammed was strongly influenced by Emirati politician Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (who later became ruler of Abu Dhabi). The

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

was pushing for the idea of helping Russia stabilise Syria and enabling the Assad regime in the country. In 2017 it was reported that Saudi Arabia provided weapons to Syrian opposition groups, fighting against the Assad regime.

Conflict Armament Research Conflict Armament Research (CAR) is a British-based investigative organization that tracks the supply of conventional weapons, ammunition, and related military materiel (such as IEDs) into conflict-affected areas. Established in 2011, CAR specia ...

(CAR) reported that these weapons frequently ended up in the hands of the

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

members. In 2018, Mohammed reportedly wanted the US military presence to maintain in Syria, despite Donald Trump's declaring the withdrawal of American forces from the war-torn country. In March 2023, Saudi Arabia began talks to bring Syria back into the Arab League, and provided economic support after the

2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

on 6 February. In May 2023, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad attended the Arab League summit in Jeddah where he was received by Mohammed.

Relations with Israel

In December 2017, Mohammed criticised the United States' decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. In 2018, he voiced his support for a Jewish homeland of Israel, the first time that a senior Saudi royal has expressed such sentiments publicly. In September 2019, Mohammed condemned Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

's plans to annex the eastern portion of the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

known as the Jordan Valley. In 2020, Mohammed met with Netanyahu and Israeli head of the

Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...

, Yosi Cohen, in Neom. The

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

were pushing for Israel's normalization for years, calling in this context the Abraham Accords the “deal of the century”, but Riyadh rejected reports of progress. In 2023, there were ongoing U.S. lead negotiations to establish diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. Mohammed also said that his country was moving steadily closer to normalising relations with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords. Due to the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, Mohammed called for a global

arms embargo An arms embargo is a restriction or a set of sanctions that applies either solely to weaponry or also to "dual-use technology." An arms embargo may serve one or more purposes: * to signal disapproval of the behavior of a certain actor * to maintain ...

against Israel. Amid the

, according to reporting by ''

'', Mohammed told U.S. Secretary of State

Antony Blinken Antony John Blinken (born April 16, 1962) is an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the 71st United States secretary of state from 2021 to 2025. He previously served as Deputy National Security Advisor, deputy national security advisor ...

in January 2024 that he was open to Saudi normalization with Israel, adding, "Do I care personally about the Palestinian issue? I don’t, but my people do." Surveys in the early stages of Israel's war on Gaza showed that over 90 percent of Saudis citizens believed that the Arab states should break off their relations with Israel. In August 2024, Mohammad discussed his fears of facing assassination due to his support for establishing and normalizing Saudi-Israel ties, and the threats he received. He believed for any deal, it was important to include a true path to the

State of Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, keeping in mind the current Israel-Palestine war. Following the events in Gaza and Israel's attacks in Lebanon and Syria on 17 and 18 September 2024, Saudi Arabia became even more vocal in its rejection of normalizing relations with Israel. Crown Prince Mohammad declared, during the annual address to the

Shura Council In Arab culture, a Majlis-ash-Shura (; Shura Council in English) is an advisory council or consultative council. In Islamic context, the Majlis-ash-Shura is one of two ways that a khalifa (Islamic leader) may be selected, the other way being b ...

on 19 September 2024, that Saudi Arabia will not normalize relations with Israel until Palestine is recognized as a state with

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the portion of Jerusalem that was Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, held by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Captured and occupied in 1967, th ...

as its capital. At the Riyadh Summit on 11 November 2024, Mohammed condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza as a “collective genocide” and called on Israel to respect Iran’s sovereignty.

Relationship with Russia

Under Mohammed's leadership, Saudi Arabia strengthened its relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin. In 2016, Mohammed signed an agreement to cooperate with Russia in global oil markets. After Mohammed was accused of murdering Jamal Khashoggi,

Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

was one of few world leaders to publicly embrace the prince. Russia has also abstained from criticising

and has supported the United Nations arms embargo against the

in the

Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

. In 2021, Mohammed signed a military cooperation agreement with Russia. Amidst Western isolation following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Mohammed strengthened his personal relationship with Vladimir Putin and expanded Saudi-Russia relations. Russia and Saudi Arabia have since been co-operating through the OPEC to cut oil output and increase oil prices. In September 2022, five British and two American POWs captured in Ukraine were released by Russia through Saudi mediation. Russia's new foreign policy concept unveiled in 2023 has given priority to enhancing friendly relations with Saudi Arabia. In December 2023, Putin visited Saudi Arabia and met with Mohammed. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hosted Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

on 10 March 2025, ahead of U.S.-Ukraine talks. Saudi Arabia has positioned itself as a neutral mediator in global conflicts, including Ukraine and earlier U.S.-Russia negotiations, reflecting its growing role as a diplomatic power broker.

Relations with Turkey

In March 2018, Mohammed referred to Turkey as part of a "triangle of evil" alongside Iran and the

Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...

. However, Mohammed later led a reconciliation with Turkey in 2022, leading to improved relations between the countries. In July 2023, the Crown Prince and Turkish president

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

agreed to a major deal for Saudi Arabia to purchase Turkish

Baykar Bayraktar Akıncı Bayraktar Akıncı (, Raider lit. "Akinji") is a high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) being manufactured by the Turkish defence company Baykar. The first three units entered service with the Turkish Armed Forc ...

drones.

Relations with United States

Relations with the Trump Administration

In August 2016, Donald Trump Jr., the son of US presidential candidate Donald Trump, had a meeting with an envoy representing Mohammed bin Salman and the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed. The envoy offered help to the Trump campaign. The meeting included Joel Zamel, an Israeli social media expert, Lebanese-American businessman George Nader, and Blackwater founder

Erik Prince Erik Dean Prince (born June 6, 1969) is an American businessman, investor, author, and former U.S. Navy SEAL officer, and the founder of the private military company Blackwater. He served as Blackwater's CEO until 2009 and as its chairman u ...

. Upon Trump's election, support for Mohammed bin Salman was described as one of the few issues where rival White House advisers

Jared Kushner Jared Corey Kushner (born January 10, 1981) is an American businessman and investor. He is a son-in-law of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, through his marriage to Ivanka Trump and served as a senior advisor in his father-in- ...

and

Steve Bannon Stephen Kevin Bannon (born November 27, 1953) is an American media executive, political strategist, and former investment banker. He served as the White House's chief strategist for the first seven months of president Donald Trump's first ...

agreed. Mohammed, then deputy crown prince, was subsequently invited to the White House and given the treatment typically afforded to foreign heads of state by diplomatic protocol. He subsequently defended the Trump administration's

travel ban A travel ban is one of a variety of mobility restrictions imposed by governments. Bans can be universal or selective. The restrictions can be geographic, imposed by either the originating or destination jurisdiction. They can also be based on indi ...

for nationals of 7 Muslim-majority countries, stating that "Saudi Arabia does not believe that this measure is targeting Muslim countries or the religion of Islam". Kushner also inquired as to how the US could support Mohammed in the succession process. After Mohammed became crown prince, Trump reportedly said, "We've put our man on top". Trump initially supported the Saudi-led blockade of Qatar, despite opposition from

US Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense

James Mattis James Norman Mattis (born September 8, 1950) is an American military officer who served as the 26th United States secretary of defense from 2017 to 2019. A retired Marine Corps four-star general, he commanded forces in the Persian Gulf War, th ...

, though he later changed his position. Mohammed later reportedly claimed Kushner had provided intelligence assistance on domestic rivals to Mohammed during the 2017–19 Saudi Arabian purge, which Trump had personally expressed support for. The Trump administration also firmly supported Mohammed during global backlash following the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi.

Relations with the Biden administration

In 2019, during the Trump administration, Joe Biden criticised Mohammed, describing him as a pariah due to the 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi. In July 2021, six months into the Biden presidency, Saudi deputy defence minister Khalid bin Salman Al Saud (Mohammed's brother) visited the United States. It was the first meeting between senior US and Saudi officials after Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in 2018. In September 2021, Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with Mohammed. In the meeting, Mohammed reportedly ended up shouting at Sullivan after he raised the killing of Khashoggi. US-Saudi trade relations has also sunk drastically from a height of 76 billion dollars in 2012 to just about 29 billion dollars in 2021. After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Saudi Arabia declined US requests to increase

oil production Petroleum is a fossil fuel that can be drawn from beneath the Earth's surface. Reservoirs of petroleum are formed through the mixture of plants, algae, and sediments in shallow seas under high pressure. Petroleum is mostly recovered from oil d ...

and thus undercut Russia's war finances. The ''Wall Street Journal'' wrote in April 2022 that the US-Saudi relationship was at "its lowest point in decades." In April 2022, CIA director William Burns traveled to Saudi Arabia to meet with Mohammed, asking him to increase the country's oil production. They also discussed Saudi weapons purchases from China. Secretary Blinken Meets with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman

Secretary Blinken Meets with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman

Relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia became weak after

OPEC+ The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC ) is an organization enabling the co-operation of leading oil-producing and oil-dependent countries in order to collectively influence the global oil market and maximize Profit (eco ...

announced a cut in oil production by two million barrels a day. The US government was angered by the move, accusing Saudi Arabia of siding with Russia in its war against Ukraine. The Saudi government denied these claims, claiming that the move was not politically motivated but to bring stability in global oil markets. The Saudi government also declined a US request to postpone an OPEC decision until after the

2022 United States elections Elections in the United States, Elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2022, with the exception of absentee balloting. During this U.S. midterm election, which occurred during the term of president Joe Biden, all 435 seats in ...

, leading Biden to threaten "consequences" against Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia's relations with the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...

have been strained, especially after Mohammed's refusal to increase oil production in the wake of the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. However, the relations have warmed up with Biden's official visit to Saudi Arabia,

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

's approval of a $500m arms deal, a

bipartisan Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing Political party, politica ...

group visit of US senators to Saudi Arabia, and relaxing restrictions on offensive weapons sales.

Relations with the second Trump administration

From 13 to 16 May 2025, Donald Trump undertook his first major international trip of his second term, visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Trump and Mohammed signed a "strategic economic partnership" agreement. The visit elevated Mohammed's standing within the Saudi government as King Salman, who did not appear during the Saudi visit, has largely receded from public view. In contrast to the 2017 Riyadh summit, Mohammed greeted Trump at

King Khalid International Airport King Khalid International Airport (; ) is an international airport located about north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This airport consists of five Airport terminal, passenger terminals with eight aero-bridges each, a mosque, and parking facilities ...

, rather than Salman.

Relations with Qatar

On 5 June 2017, Saudi Arabia under Mohammed spearheaded a diplomatic crisis with Qatar together with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, with the countries severing

diplomatic relations Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of state, intergovernmental, or non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern Diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...

with Qatar and effectively imposing a blockade on the country. The countries cited Qatar's alleged support for terrorism as the main reason for the actions, also citing

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...

and Qatar's relations with Iran. Reuters reported that Mohammed "said the dispute with Qatar could be long-lasting, comparing it to the US embargo against Cuba imposed 60 years before, but played down its impact, dismissing the Gulf emirate as "smaller than a Cairo street". In August 2018, a report by ''

The Intercept ''The Intercept'' is an American left-wing nonprofit news organization that publishes articles and podcasts online. ''The Intercept'' has published in English since its founding in 2014, and in Portuguese since the 2016 launch of the Brazilia ...

'' cited unnamed sources claiming that former US secretary of state Rex Tillerson had in June 2017 intervened to stop a Saudi-Emirati plan to invade Qatar, resulting in increased pressure from Saudi Arabia and the UAE for his removal from office. On 4 January 2021, Qatar and Saudi Arabia agreed to a resolution of the crisis brokered by Kuwait and the United States, which stated that Saudi Arabia will reopen its border with Qatar and begin the process for reconciliation. An agreement and final communiqué signed on 5 January 2021 following a GCC summit at

Al-'Ula al-Ula (), officially AlUla, is an ancient Arabian oasis city and governorate located in Medina Province, Saudi Arabia, northwest of the city of Medina. Situated in the Hejaz, a region that features prominently in the history of Islam as well ...

marks the resolution of the crisis.

Resignation of Saad Hariri

In November 2017, Mohammed forced Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri to resign when he visited Saudi Arabia. Mohammed believed that Hariri was in the pocket of Iran-backed

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

, which is a major political force in Lebanon. Hariri eventually was released, went back to Lebanon and annulled his resignation.

Saudi–Canadian dispute

Chrystia Freeland Christina Alexandra Freeland (born August 2, 1968) is a Canadian politician and journalist who has served as the Member of Parliament (Canada), member of Parliament (MP) for University—Rosedale (federal electoral district), University—Rose ...

, Canada's minister of foreign affairs, issued a statement via Twitter on 2 August 2018 expressing Canada's concern over the recent arrest of Samar Badawi, a human rights activist and sister of imprisoned Saudi blogger

Raif Badawi Raif bin Muhammad Badawi (, also transcribed Raef bin Mohammed Badawi; born 13 January 1984) is a Saudi writer, dissident and activist, as well as the creator of the website ''Free Saudi Liberals''. Badawi was arrested in 2012 on a charge of ...

, and called for the release of human rights activists. In response to Canada's criticism, Saudi Arabia expelled Canada's ambassador and froze trade with Canada. The ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'' reported that the consensus among analysts indicated that the actions taken by Mohammed were a "warning to the world — and to Saudi human rights activists — that his Saudi Arabia is not to be trifled with". The diplomatic ties were restored on 24 May 2023.

Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi

In October 2018, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of Mohammed, went missing after entering the Saudi consulate in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. Turkish officials reportedly believe that Khashoggi was murdered at the consulate, claiming to have specific video and audio recordings proving that he was first tortured and then murdered, and that a medical forensics expert was part of the 15-man Saudi team seen entering and leaving the consulate at the time of the journalist's disappearance. Saudi Arabia denied the accusations and 13 days later Mohammed invited Turkish authorities to search the building as they "have nothing to hide". Saudi officials said they are "working to search for him". The ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' reported that Mohammed had earlier sought to lure Khashoggi back to Saudi Arabia and detain him. According to ''

Middle East Eye ''Middle East Eye'' (MEE) is a United Kingdom-based media website and channel that primarily focuses on news related to the Middle East, North Africa, and the broader Muslim world. The ownership of the organisation is undisclosed. Some sources ...

'', seven of the fifteen men suspected of killing Khashoggi are members of Mohammed's personal bodyguard. John Sawers, a former head of the British

MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

, stated that in his judgment of the evidence it is "very likely" that Mohammed ordered the killing of Khashoggi. In the aftermath of Khashoggi's death, multiple commentators referred to Mohammed as "Mister Bone Saw", a play on the initials MBS. The name refers to the alleged use of a

bone saw A bone cutter is a surgical instrument used to cut or remove bones. In addition to surgery, they are also used in forensics and dismemberment. Types of medical bone cutters include: * unpowered saw, Unpowered – Unpowered bone cutting imple ...

to dispose of Khashoggi's remains. Mohammed has denied any involvement in the murder and blamed the assassination on rogue operators. However, Western countries are not convinced and believe this could not have happened without Mohammed's knowledge or approval. Donald Trump described the Saudi response to the killing as "one of the worst in the history of cover-ups." Trump also believes that Mohammed at least knew about the plan, saying that "the prince is running things over there more so at this stage." After the murder, Mohammed's close confidant Ahmad Asiri was sacked, as was former advisor Saud al-Qahtani. The recording of Khashoggi's killing collected by Turkish intelligence reportedly reveals that one of the members of the kill team instructed someone over the phone to "tell your boss, the deed was done." American intelligence officials believe that "boss" was a reference to the Crown Prince. The person who made the call was identified as Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, a security officer who is frequently seen travelling with the prince. Seven weeks after Khashoggi's death, Saudi Arabia, in order to "distance ... Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, from the grisly murder" stated it would pursue the death penalty for five suspects charged with "ordering and executing the crime." On 16 November 2018, it was reported that the

(CIA) had concluded with "high confidence" that Mohammed ordered Khashoggi's murder. The CIA based its conclusion on several pieces of evidence, including an intercepted conversation in which Mohammed's brother Khalid offered Khashoggi assurances that it would be safe for the journalist to enter Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul. Although the CIA reportedly had not determined whether Khalid had any foreknowledge of Khashoggi's ultimate fate upon entering the consulate, it believed that Khalid conveyed this message to Khashoggi at Mohammed's behest. In the CIA's analysis, the killing was most likely motivated by Mohammed's privately stated belief that Khashoggi was an Islamist with problematic connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, a perception that differs markedly from the Saudi government's public remarks on Khashoggi's death. On 4 December 2018, a group of United States senators were briefed by CIA director Gina Haspel on the murder of Khashoggi. After the briefing, the senators were more than certain that Mohammed played a major role in the killing. Senator Lindsey Graham said, "You have to be willfully blind not to come to the conclusion that this was orchestrated and organised by people under the command of MBS and that he was intrinsically involved in the demise of Mr. Khashoggi." Senator Bob Corker said that the prince "ordered, monitored, the killing" and "If he were in front of a jury, he would be convicted of murder in about 30 minutes." On 5 December 2018, UN Human Rights chief

Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018, becoming the first woman to hold the presidency. She was re-elected in December ...

asked for an international investigation to determine who was behind Khashoggi's murder. A former Saudi intelligence chief and senior member of the Saudi royal family, Prince Turki bin Faisal, dismissed the CIA's reported finding that Mohammed ordered the journalist's killing, saying that "The CIA has been proved wrong before. Just to mention the

invasion of Iraq An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives ...

for example." In March 2019, US senators accused Saudi Arabia for a number of repetitive misdeeds and criticised Mohammed, saying he has gone "full gangster". The senators said the list of human rights violations by Saudi Arabia is too long to comprehend the situation in the kingdom or even work with Mohammed. In June 2019, a UN report entitled "Annex to the Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions: Investigation into the unlawful death of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi" linked Mohammed to the assassination. In a June 2019 article, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' claimed that after Khashoggi's assassination, the media group became a target of hacking attempts made by a Saudi cybersecurity subdivision, as per an internal order document obtained by the group, with Saud al-Qahtani undersigned. According to an interview in a PBS documentary film recorded in December 2018 and parts released in September 2019, Mohammed bears responsibility for the killing of Khashoggi since it happened under his watch but he denies any knowledge of the murder in advance. He denied in an interview with CBS' ''60 Minutes'' aired on 29 September 2019 any personal involvement in the killing, adding that "once charges are proven against someone, regardless of their rank, it will be taken to court, no exception made", but said that he had to take "full responsibility for what happened". On 25 February 2021, the

Office of the Director of National Intelligence The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a cabinet-level United States government intelligence and security official. The position is required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to serve as executive head o ...

issued a declassified report approved by Director

Avril Haines Avril Danica Haines (born August 27, 1969) is an American lawyer who served as the seventh Director of National Intelligence, director of national intelligence in the Presidency of Joe Biden, Biden administration. She is the first woman to serve ...

. The report, "Assessing the Saudi Government's Role in the Killing of Jamal Khashoggi" stated that, "We assess that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi." On 26 February 2021, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Agnès Callamard released a statement urging, "The United States Government should impose sanctions against the Crown Prince, as it has done for the other perpetrators targeting his personal assets but also his international engagements." On 18 November 2022, due to his new role as the Saudi prime minister, Mohammed got US immunity over Khashoggi's murder. However, Biden's administration emphasized that this was not a determination of innocence.

Intimidation of Saad al-Jabri

On 9 July 2020, four United States senators urged President Trump to secure the freedom of Saad al-Jabri's children Omar and Sarah, calling it a "moral obligation" to support a man who aided the US intelligence for years and had close ties with key members of the

Saudi royal family The House of Saud ( ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi State, (1727–1818), and his brothers, though the ruling fa ...

. The Saudi government detained Omar and Sarah in March 2020 and, to date, their whereabouts remain unknown. Saudi Arabia had issued an

extradition In an extradition, one Jurisdiction (area), jurisdiction delivers a person Suspect, accused or Conviction, convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforc ...

request and

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

notices to bring back Saad al-Jabri, who was the US

anti-terrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and intelligence agencies use to co ...

contact in the Middle East and was staying in Canada since 2018. The Interpol notice against al-Jabri was removed, citing that he was a political opponent of Mohammed. In August 2020, al-Jabri filed a federal lawsuit in Washington, DC, alleging that Mohammed dispatched a "Tiger Squad" to Canada during October 2018 to assassinate al-Jabri, who was the closest adviser to Mohammed's chief rival, Muhammad bin Nayef. The squad was identified and returned by Canadian authorities. Following the lawsuit, the US District Court for the District of Columbia issued the summons against Mohammed bin Salman, along with 11 other people. The summons stated that a judgement would be taken by default against the concerned parties if they fail to respond. Documents filed to the court revealed that Mohammed was served the lawsuit on 22 September 2020 at 4:05 p.m. ET via WhatsApp, and twenty minutes later the message was marked as "read".

Relations with China

Relations between China and Saudi Arabia have deepened under the leadership of Mohammed; since he became crown prince in 2017, trade between the two countries have increased from $51.5 billion to $87.5 billion in 2021. In February 2019, Mohammed defended China's policies in Xinjiang, where more than 1 million

Uyghurs The Uyghurs,. alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central Asia and East Asia. The Uyghurs are recognized as the ti ...

were put into

internment camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simp ...

, saying "China has the right to carry out anti-terrorism and de-extremisation work for its national security.". Miqdaad Versi, spokesperson for the

Muslim Council of Britain The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is an umbrella body of Muslim organisations in the United Kingdom, with over 500 affiliated mosques and organisations. It was formed in 1994 in response to British government's expressed wish for a single r ...

, called Mohammed's remarks "disgusting" and a defence of "the use of concentration camps against Uighur Muslims". China has been Saudi Arabia's largest economic partner since 2014 and Saudi Arabia is the biggest source of China's oil imports. In 2019, Chinese officials announced plans to incorporate

into the

Belt and Road Initiative The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI or B&R), known in China as the One Belt One Road and sometimes referred to as the New Silk Road, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the government of China in 2013 to invest in more t ...

, and expand economic, cultural, strategic and military co-operation. Since 2021, China has been assisting in Saudi Arabia's

ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are powered only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) typic ...

programme by transferring technology and making joint ventures for missile production. Mohammed hosted Chinese president

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...

in Riyadh for talks on 7–10 December 2022. During the visit, Xi met with numerous Arab leaders, including members of the

Gulf Cooperation Council The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC; ), is a Regional integration, regional, intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental, political, and economic union comprising Ba ...

. Xi also signed numerous commercial deals with Saudi Arabia and formally elevated the relationship to comprehensive strategic partnership, highest level in China's formal ranking of relations with other countries. The deal also expanded military and security ties, with both sides agreeing for joint production of UAV systems in Saudi Arabia. Describing the GCC summit as a "milestone event" in the history of Sino-Arab friendship, Xi urged the Gulf countries to start making oil transaction through

Renminbi The renminbi ( ; currency symbol, symbol: Yen and yuan sign, ¥; ISO 4217, ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB), also known as the Chinese yuan, is the official currency of the China, People's Republic of China. The renminbi is issued by the Peop ...

, a move widely seen as China's efforts to establish Renminbi as a

world currency In international finance, a world currency, supranational currency, or global currency is a currency that would be transacted internationally, with no set borders. History First European Banknotes (17th century) The first European banknotes w ...

. During the 2022

Airshow China China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition (), also known as the Airshow China () and Zhuhai Airshow (), is a biennial international aerospace trade expo held in Zhuhai, Guangdong, since 1996. It is the largest airshow in China. Hi ...

held in

Zhuhai Zhuhai; Yale romanization of Cantonese, Yale: ''Jyūhói''; Chinese postal romanization, also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern ...

, Saudi Arabia and China concluded arms deal worth $4 billion. Under the contract, Saudi Arabia purchased hundreds of Chinese drones, ballistic missiles, Silent Hunter DEWs in addition to

technology transfer Technology transfer (TT), also called transfer of technology (TOT), is the process of transferring (disseminating) technology from the person or organization that owns or holds it to another person or organization, in an attempt to transform invent ...

that enables indigenous manufacturing of various armaments. On 10 March 2023, Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to restore diplomatic ties cut in 2016 after a deal brokered between the two countries by China following secret talks in Beijing.

Hack of Jeff Bezos's phone

In March 2019,

Gavin de Becker Gavin de Becker (born October 26, 1954)Reagan, Ronald (January 19, 1989)Designation of Gavin de Becker as a Member of the Board of Governors of the United Service Organizations, Incorporated.via Reagan archive is an American security specialis ...

, a security specialist working for

Jeff Bezos Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ; born January 12, 1964) is an American businessman best known as the founder, executive chairman, and former president and CEO of Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce and clou ...

, accused Saudi Arabia of hacking Bezos's phone. Bezos was the owner of ''The Washington Post'', the leader of the company

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

, and the world's richest man at the time. In January 2020, the results of FTI Consulting's forensic investigation of Bezos' phone were made public. The company concluded with "medium to high confidence" that Bezos' phone was hacked by a multimedia message sent in May 2018 from Mohammed's

WhatsApp WhatsApp (officially WhatsApp Messenger) is an American social media, instant messaging (IM), and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by technology conglomerate Meta. It allows users to send text, voice messages and video messages, make vo ...

account, after which the phone begun transmitting dramatically higher amounts of data. The report points to circumstantial evidence: first, a November 2018 message from Mohammed to Bezos includes an image resembling the woman Bezos was having an affair with, despite the affair not being public knowledge at the time; second, a February 2019 text from Mohammed to Bezos urges Bezos not to believe everything, after Bezos was briefed on the phone regarding an Internet campaign against him conducted by Saudis. United Nations special rapporteurs Agnès Callamard and David Kaye reacted that the alleged hack suggests that Mohammed participated "in an effort to influence, if not silence, ''The Washington Posts reporting on Saudi Arabia". They declared that the alleged hacking was relevant to the issue of whether Mohammed was involved in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, who worked for ''The Washington Post''.

Environmentalism

Under Mohammed's leadership, Saudi Arabia has lobbied to weaken global carbon emissions-reduction agreements. Mohammed has made commitments about Saudi Arabia reaching

net zero emissions Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon dioxide (). Reaching net ze ...

but they are based primarily on unproven carbon capture and storage technologies.

Personal life

On 6 April 2008, Mohammed married his

first cousin A cousin is a relative who is the child of a parent's sibling; this is more specifically referred to as a first cousin. A parent of a first cousin is an aunt or uncle. More generally, in the lineal kinship, kinship system used in the English-s ...

Sara bint Mashour, a daughter of his paternal uncle Mashour bin Abdulaziz. The couple have five children; the first four were named after their grandparents, and the fifth one is named after their great-grandfather

King Abdulaziz Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (; 15 January 1875Ibn Saud's birth year has been a source of debate. It is generally accepted as 1876, although a few sources give it as 1880. According to British author Robert Lacey's book ''The Kingdom'', ...

, the founder of Saudi Arabia. In 2022, ''The Economist'' reported that on at least one occasion, Mohammed beat Sara so severely that she required medical treatment. In 2015, Mohammed purchased the Italian-built and Bermuda-registered yacht '' Serene'' from Russian vodka tycoon Yuri Shefler for €500 million. In 2015, he purchased the Château Louis XIV in France for over $300 million. In 2018, he was ranked by ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' as the eighth most powerful person in the world, with a personal wealth of at least $25 billion, although his wealth was also estimated at $3.0 billion the same year. In December 2017, a number of sources reported that Mohammed, using his close associate Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Farhan as an intermediary, had bought ''

Salvator Mundi , Latin for Saviour of the World, is a subject in iconography depicting Christ with his right hand raised in blessing and his left hand holding an orb (frequently surmounted by a cross), known as a . The latter symbolizes the Earth, and the whol ...

'' by

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

; the sale in November at $450 million set a new record price for a work of art. This report has been denied by the auctioneer

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

, the Saudi Arabian embassy, and the UAE government, which has announced that it is the actual owner of the painting. The painting has not been seen publicly since the auction, but is reported to be on Mohammed's yacht ''Serene''. Bernard Haykel, a prominent historian who speaks regularly to MBS said to the BBC that despite rumours that it is hanging "in the prince's yacht or palace", it is actually stored in Geneva and will be hung in a "very large" museum in the Riyadh that is yet been to be built as intended by him to be an "anchor object" that would attract tourists "just like the Mona Lisa does."

Honours

*: **

Order of Sheikh Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifa

Member Exceptional Class of the Order of Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa (25 November 2018) *: ** Grand Cordon of the Order of the Republic (28 November 2018) *: ** Order of Pakistan

Nishan-e-Pakistan Nishan-e-Pakistan () is the highest civilian award of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It is awarded to "those who have rendered services of highest distinction" to the national interest of Pakistan. Nishan is awarded to government officials a ...

(18 February 2019) *: ** CivilOrderOman

Civil First Class of the Order of Oman (7 December 2021) *: ** Ribbon bar of the Order of Zayed

Collar of the Order of Zayed (7 December 2021) *: ** Collar of the Order of Al-Hussein bin Ali (21 June 2022) *: **

Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise 1st 2nd and 3rd Class of Ukraine

First Class of the

Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise The Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise () is a Ukrainian award. It is awarded for distinguished services to the state and people of the Ukrainian nation in the field of state building, strengthening the international prestige of Ukraine, develop ...

(30 December 2023)

References

External links

* * * * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mohammed Salman 1985 births 21st-century Saudi Arabian politicians Articles containing video clips Children of Salman of Saudi Arabia Crown princes of Saudi Arabia Defense ministers of Saudi Arabia Deputy prime ministers of Saudi Arabia Foreign recipients of the Nishan-e-Pakistan Recipients of the Order of Al-Hussein bin Ali King Saud University alumni Living people People from Riyadh Prime ministers of Saudi Arabia Sons of kings Saudi Arabian Arab nationalists Saudi Arabian billionaires Saudi Arabian Sunni Muslims Sunni monarchs Critics of Islamism Mohammed bin Salman