Dubai: Two senior princes in Saudi Arabia are under arrest for not supporting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has consolidated control of all major levers of power with the support of his father, King Salman.
The arrests on Friday of the king's younger and beloved brother, Prince Ahmed bin Abdelaziz, and the king's nephew and former counter terrorism czar, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, came after an accumulation of behavior that was provocative to leadership, one person in Saudi Arabia with knowledge of the arrests said.
Both princes had served previously in the post of interior minister, overseeing security and surveillance inside the kingdom.
The move came as a surprise, given that Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, 60, was widely known to be under close surveillance since he was shunted out of the line of succession by the king's son in mid-2017.
The arrest of Prince Ahmed, 78, was also unexpected since he is the king's full younger brother and also a senior member of the ruling Al Saud family.
Prince Ahmed, however, has long held unfavorable views of the 34-year-old crown prince and was one of just a few senior princes to abstain from pledging allegiance to him when the young royal sidelined more senior princes to become first in line to the throne.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the arrests, quoting unidentified sources allied with the royal court as saying the princes were plotting a palace coup that would halt the rise of the crown prince.
Read: Saudi arrests royal family members for allegedly plotting coup
The Journal has since reported that the sweep broadened to include dozens of Interior Ministry officials, senior army officers and others suspected of supporting a coup attempt.
Reports suggest that arrests were made to sent a message to all those in the royal family to stop grumbling and toe the line, saying that if Prince Ahmed can be arrested, any prince can and will be.
Prince Mohammed bin Nayef is well-known and liked by U.S. intelligence officials for his counter terrorism cooperation in past years against Al-Qaeda.
As head of the interior ministry, he was a feared and towering figure who oversaw the long arm of the government that both prosecuted and closely monitored and jailed dissidents and critics of the kingdom.
Prince Ahmed has been seen as critical of the crown prince, including telling protesters who were accosting him in London to ask the king and his son about the humanitarian disaster sparked by the war in Yemen.
Religiously conservative, the prince also recently grumbled over the decision to close Islam's holiest site in Mecca to stymie the spread of the new coronavirus, according to one of the people familiar with the arrests.
The arrest of the two senior princes is most likely a preemptive move to manage risks to a transition from King Salman to his son, according to an analysis by Eurasia Group. Both princes were seen as possible alternatives to Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The crown prince is popular among many in Saudi Arabia for pushing through bold reforms that have transformed life in the kingdom for many, including loosening severe restrictions on women and allowing concerts to be performed and movie theaters to open. (With inputs from AP)
