Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir was reportedly fired on Friday and replaced by Khaled bin Salman, the crown prince’s younger brother, according to sources cited by several media outlets, including Al-Masdar News.
Saudi Foreign Minister al-Jubeir fired and replaced by Khaled bin Salman: Sources
9 Dec 2017 - 13:08
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir was reportedly fired on Friday and replaced by Khaled bin Salman, the crown prince’s younger brother, according to sources cited by several media outlets, including Al-Masdar News.
A diplomatic source, who wished not to be identified, also confirmed the royal decision to Middle East Eye.
However, late on Friday, Al-Masdar News changed the source for the story, linking to an Arabic website that features a statement purportedly by the official Saudi news agency SPA. MEE was unable to find the referenced statement on official SPA platforms.
The Saudi government has yet to comment on the reports and MEE was unable to reach a Saudi official late Friday.
Prince Khaled is currently Riyadh’s ambassador to the United States. He was trained at Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi and has been an F-15 pilot in the Saudi air force.
Al-Jubeir succeeded foreign policy veteran Prince Saud Al Faisal in 2015 to become the second foreign minister in the history of the kingdom who is not a member of the royal family.
He was serving as ambassador to the US before his appointment.
Saudi Arabia's foreign policy has come under rare criticism from Washington in recent days.
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