Iran Press/commentary: The king's brother, Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, former crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef, and Nawaf bin Nayef, brother of Mohammed bin Nayef, are three princes detained by the Saudi Royal Guard.
Perhaps there is no period, such as that of King Salman and his son in power, Mohammed, that was so unbearable for Saudi princes. Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince who practically considers himself king, closely monitors the princes and monitors their movements. In addition, Muhammad bin Salman is deeply concerned about the position and power of the princes. Accordingly, detention and restraint have been the most important strategy for confronting the princes to reach the throne.
The Saudi government in November 2017 arrested several high-profile princes on corruption charges and released them after seizing several billion of their assets. Following the arrests of the princes, the arrests of Saudi scholars and writers and activists were intensified. Mohammed bin Salman is making these arrests to expand his influence in the power structure as well as suppress any dissenting voice that criticizes and challenges his position and policies.
Mohammed bin Salman has now arrested two of his main rivals for power. Ahmed ibn Abdulaziz is one of Abdulaziz's sons, the founder of House of Saud and the brother of the current king, whom many Saudi princes consider him the competent king after King Salman. Ahmad bin Abdulaziz had earlier criticized the policies of Muhammad bin Salman in Saudi Arabia.
Mohammed bin Nayef also served as the Saudi crown prince before Mohammed bin Salman and was replaced by King Salman in 2017.
However, Mohammed bin Nayef has a significant influence on the Saudi power structure and is one of the main chances of the throne. In the past three years, there have been repeated reports that Mohammed bin Nayef is in house arrest, and there has been no media coverage of him for a long time.
Although the arrests of Ahmad bin Abdulaziz and Mohammed bin Nayef were carried out on charges of "treason", there is no doubt that the move was most likely due to Mohammed bin Salman's fear of rival princes.
The fear is such that Mohammed bin Salman sees all ties and bonds between the princes, especially those claiming power, as "treason". In this regard, the Bloomberg News Agency reported that Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz and Mohammed bin Nayef were detained while they were on a trip. The bottom line is that the arrests of the princes came at a time when King Salman also changed the structure of ministries in the last month and removed a number of officials and replaced them with new ones, the most recent being the resignation of the minister.
The bottom line is that the arrests of the princes came at a time when King Salman also changed the structure of ministries in the last month and removed a number of officials and replaced them with new ones, the most recent being the resignation of the minister.
King Salman and his son, Mohammed, appear to be pursuing power engineering in Saudi Arabia with more pace.
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