OPEC

Mohammad bin Salman’s (MBS) primary method of stoking the embers of secular Saudi nationalism has been his regional Cold War with Iran, as he has long cast the Islamic Republic as the root of all problems in the Middle East, arguing political — the battle for regional hegemonyand theological — with the Saudis primarily Sunni Muslims and Iranians despised Shiite ones — differences make negotiations between them impossible. MBS has compared Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to Adolph Hitler and threatened to instigate violence within Iran’s borders.

June 24, 2020, 6 AM MDT

Analysis

Lauerman: King Salman Has Painted Saudi Arabia Into A Corner— Part 1

King Salman has painted his kingdom into a corner by concentrating power in his matrilineal line of the royal family, and his young and inexperienced son Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) in particular, since ascending the throne in January 2015. By making MBS crown prince in June 2017, after pushing aside two previous princes from other lines of the family, and making his son de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, the king has inadvertently made the House of Saud brittle.

June 23, 2020, 7:32 AM MDT