DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A former Saudi official has alleged that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman forged his father’s signature on the royal decree that launched the kingdom’s yearslong, stalemated war against Yemen‘s Houthi rebels.
Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to a request for comment over the allegations made without supporting evidence by Saad al-Jabri in a BBC interview published Monday. The kingdom has described him as “a discredited former government official.” Al-Jabri, a former intelligence official who lives in exile in Canada, has been in a long dispute with the kingdom as his two children have been imprisoned in a case he describes as trying to lure him back to Saudi Arabia.
The allegation comes as Prince Mohammed serves as Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, often meeting leaders in place of his father, 88-year-old King Salman.
Prince Mohammed’s assertive behavior, particularly early in his ascension to power around the beginning of the Yemen war in 2015, has extended to a wider crackdown on any perceived dissent or power base that could challenge his rule.
Al-Jabri told the BBC a “credible, reliable” official linked to the Saudi Interior Ministry confirmed to him that Prince Mohammed signed the decree declaring war in place of his father. Prince Mohammed was the defense minister at the time.
“We were surprised that there was a royal decree to allow the ground interventions,”…
