Rumours grow of split between MBS and Saudi king - Guardian newspaper

The Guardian reported on Tuesday that there's a potentially disastrous rift developing between Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his son and heir-apparent Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman or MBS.

The report says the two have disagreed over a number of policy issues including the war on Yemen.

MBS is also said to have been out of favour with his father since the murder of Jamal Khashoggi last year. The journalist and Saudi critic was killed and dismembered by a hit squad sent from Riyadh inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. 

The Saudi government has denied any involvement by the prince, whom the CIA concluded ordered the killing.

The CIA assessment has largely been ignored by US President Donald Trump and his administration, which enjoys a close relationship with Saudi Arabia and has sought to downplay the significance of the Washington Post writer's killing. Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner is seen as a friend of MBS.

Tensions

Tensions between the king and son grew further after the king visited Egypt in February and his advisers warned him of a possible move against him, the Guardian reported.

The king's security team were replaced by 30 of his loyalists as there was concern that some of the old team were loyal to his son.

While his father was in Egypt, MBS, with the title 'deputy king,' made personnel changes without his father's consent, according to the Guardian. The elevation of his brother, Khalid bin Salman, to defence minister further centralised power in one branch of the ruling family, The Guardian reported.

The changes angered the king, according to The Guardian, with the monarch learning of them from television in Egypt.

Divisions

According to The Guardian other sources of tension between the prince and king include the Saudi response to protests in Sudan and Algeria.

“There are subtle but important signs of something amiss in the royal palace,” Bruce Riedel, a director of the Brookings Intelligence Project and 30-year CIA veteran, told The Guardian.