１７３．Saudi king demotes FM in reshuffle seen as whitewash
Saudi king demotes FM in reshuffle seen as whitewash
Saudi King Salman has demoted Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir in a major reshuffle, which included changes to key national security posts amid fallout from the murder of a dissident journalist.
The man to replace him, Ibrahim al-Assaf, was no less of a surprise because he was among dozens of prominent Saudi royals and businessmen detained in Riyadh's Ritz-Carlton in November, 2017.
Jubeir will be demoted to minister of state for foreign affairs, the foreign ministry said on Thursday citing a royal decree.
A royal decree was also issued to restructure the Political and Security Affairs Council, headed by heir apparent Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), which has seen Saudi Arabia embroiled in its worst scandal in decades.
MBS has been widely associated with the October 2 killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
The death sparked international outcry as it drew attention to the West's close ties with the kingdom whose destructive war on Yemen is a matter of constant criticism.
Various reports have verified that some members of a 15-member hit team, which traveled to Istanbul to carry out the killing, had been drawn from among bin Salman’s personal bodyguards.
Western intelligence agencies and Turkey have suggested that MBS bore ultimate responsibility for the assassination of Khashoggi.
However, the reshuffle announced on Thursday did not touch MBS portfolios, with analysts saying Jubeir has been used as a scapegoat in the scandal.
The decision, they said, did not surprise them because they had been expecting Jubeir to be sacked for some time, even before the Khashoggi affair.
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