In the years since Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman catapulted to power, it has been hard to find a controversy in the Middle East that doesn't somehow involve the 37-year-old heir to the throne. Now he's pivoting to his next audacious plan: Giving peace a chance. The moves toward reaching a détente with Iran, reestablishing ties to Syria and ending the kingdom's yearslong war in Yemen could extricate Prince Mohammed from some of the thorniest regional issues he faces. Whether it succeeds will have profound impacts on the wider Middle East and on his expansive plans to reshape the kingdom away from oil and further into his image. Failure threatens not only his impending rule over a nation crucial to global energy supplies, but a wider region shaken by years of tensions, inflamed in part by his decisions. Prince Mohammed's rise accelerated in 2015 after his father, King Salman, appointed him as deputy crown prince. That year saw Mohammed, also the country's defense minister at the time, plunge Saudi Arabia into a military campaign in Yemen, a civil war that grew into a regional proxy battle still continuing today. Riyadh supports Yemen's exiled government against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who hold Sanaa, the country's capital. The tensions with Iran, at the time still in a nuclear deal with world powers, escalated with Saudi Arabia's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric in 2016. Protesters stormed Saudi diplomatic posts in Iran, and Riyadh broke off ties to Tehran. In 2017, Saudi Arabia joined three other Arab nations in boycotting Qatar, which maintains ties to Iran. The same year, the prince made what appeared to be a heavy-handed attempt to break Iranian-backed Hezbollah's domination of Lebanon's government by inviting Lebanon's prime minister to the kingdom and then allegedly forcing him to announce his resignation. The attempt failed and Saudi Arabia's influence in Lebanon has been diminished ever since. Prince Mohammed days later launched a purported anti-corruption campaign that saw the Saudi elite locked in the Ritz Carlton until they handed over billions in assets. The slaying of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, believed by the United States and others to be at the prince's orders, followed in 2018. But an attack that followed likely changed the prince's calculations. In September 2019, a barrage of cruise missiles and drones struck at the heart of Saudi Arabia's oil industry, temporarily halving production. While the Houthis initially claimed the assault, the West and Saudi Arabia later blamed the attacks on Tehran. Independent experts also linked the weapons to Iran. Though Tehran still denies carrying out the attack, even United Nations investigators said that “the Houthi forces are unlikely to be responsible for the attack.” Saudi Arabia never retaliated publicly for the attack, nor did the U.S. under President Donald Trump as the longtime security guarantor for the Gulf Arab states. That, as well as America's later chaotic 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, led to a reconsideration in the region of how much to rely on U.S. promises. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia maintained a close relationship with Russia as part of the OPEC+ group. The organization's oil production cuts, even as Moscow's war on Ukraine boosted energy prices, angered President Joe Biden and American lawmakers. China, emerging from the coronavirus pandemic, also wants to secure its supply of Saudi oil. Both Russia and China offer Saudi Arabia and Prince Mohammed the cachet of being respected by the world's great powers without the persistent human rights concerns of the West. Prince Mohammed has hosted and spoken by phone with both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin. The Chinese-mediated deal on the kingdom reestablishing ties with Iran also provides Prince Mohammed with a new opportunity to show the U.S. that others can shape Mideast politics. It also offers a needed lull to allow the prince to instead focus on his planned $500 billion futuristic desert smart city project called Neom in the kingdom's northwest, and the Mukaab in Riyadh — a 400-meter-high (523-yard) cube-shaped mini-city full of holograms and entertainment venues — to anchor a new downtown in the Saudi capital, likely to cost billions more if completed. A lull in tensions is desperately sought by Iran as well, particularly in the wake of the Mahsa Amini protests that represent one of the greatest challenges to its theocracy since the chaotic years after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. U.S. sanctions over Tehran's collapsed nuclear deal as well still choke Iran's economy. For Prince Mohammed, the time must have appeared right to make the move. Already, Saudi Arabia led efforts to reestablish ties to Qatar in 2021. Easing tensions with Iran may provide him the avenue to finally fully pull out of the Yemen war. Still, Prince Mohammed instructing Saudi officials to sit down with Iranian counterparts to reopen embassies represents a dramatic change for a leader who in 2018 said: “I believe the Iranian supreme leader makes Hitler look good.” Meanwhile, talks are ongoing on restoring ties with Syria, still under Iranian-backed President Bashar Assad after years of civil war. An upcoming Arab League summit being hosted by the kingdom in May could see Syria formally brought back into the fold. Even Lebanon, beset by crises ranging from fiscal to even time keeping, could benefit from a Saudi-Iran rapprochement. The kingdom will also face a transition in the future. King Salman is already 87. His predecessor, King Abdullah, was the oldest Saudi monarch when he died at the age 90. Prince Mohammed likely will be the youngest ever to take the throne — and could have decades more to make his mark on the kingdom. What that mark will be depends just as much on him as it does on whether he can cool the tensions he helped kindle.

A U.S. federal judge on Tuesday (December 06, 2022) dismissed a lawsuit against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi, bowing to the Biden administration’s insistence that the prince was legally immune in the case. District of Columbia U.S. District Judge John D. Bates heeded the U.S. government’s motion to shield Prince Mohammed from the lawsuit despite what Bates called “credible allegations of his involvement in Khashoggi’s murder.” A team of Saudi officials killed Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, had written critically of the harsh ways of Prince Mohammed, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler. The U.S. intelligence community concluded the Saudi crown prince ordered the operation against Khashoggi. The killing opened a rift between the Biden administration and Saudi Arabia that the administration has tried in recent months to close, as the U.S. unsuccessfully urged the kingdom to undo oil production cuts in a global market racked by the Ukraine war. Read: Jamal Khashoggi killing: Rights group files complaint against Saudi crown prince Khashoggi had entered the Saudi consulate to obtain documents needed for his upcoming marriage. His fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, who had waited unknowingly outside the consulate as he was killed, and a rights group founded by Khashoggi before he died brought the lawsuit. The lawsuit also named two top aides of the prince as accomplices. The Biden administration, invited but not ordered by the judge to offer an opinion on the matter, declared last month that Prince Mohammed’s standing as Saudi Arabia’s prime minister gave him sovereign immunity from the U.S. lawsuit. Saudi Arabia’s king, Salman, had named Prince Mohammed, his son, as prime minister weeks earlier. It was a temporary exemption from the kingdom’s governing code, which makes the king prime minister. Khashoggi’s fiancee and his rights group argued the move was a maneuver to shield the prince from the U.S. court. Read: Saudi crown prince: First EU visit since Khashoggi killing Bates expressed “uneasiness” with the circumstances of Prince Mohammed’s new title, and wrote in Tuesday’s order that “there is a strong argument that plaintiffs’ claims against bin Salman and the other defendants are meritorious.” But the government’s finding that Prince Mohammed was immune left him no choice but to dismiss the prince as a plaintiff, the judge wrote. He also dismissed the two other Saudi plaintiffs, saying the U.S. court lacked jurisdiction over them. The Biden administration argued longstanding legal precedent on immunity for heads of government from other nations’ courts, in some circumstances, demanded that the prince be shielded as prime minister, regardless of the prince only recently obtaining the title. The Biden administration already had spared Prince Mohammed from government penalties in the case, again citing sovereign immunity. Rights groups and Saudi exiles argued that sparing Prince Mohammed from accountability in Khashoggi’s killing would give the crown prince and other authoritarian rulers around the world a green light for future abuses. Read More: Oil price war, Mecca ban are latest risks by Saudi prince

Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz has accepted the invitation to visit Bangladesh at a convenient time in 2023.  This would be a landmark event in the history of bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia leading to the consolidation of ties, especially in trade and commerce, investment and economic cooperation. Saudi Ambassador to Bangladesh Essa Yussef Essa Al Duhailan revealed this while paying a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Ganabhaban on Saturday. PM’s Deputy Press Secretary Hasan Jahid Tusher briefed reporters after the meeting. In the meeting, the Saudi envoy handed over an acceptance letter from the Crown Prince to the Prime Minister as the Saudi Prince has given consent to the proposed visit in response to the invitation made by the Bangladesh Prime Minister on August 30. The envoy stated that it would be the first ever visit of any Saudi Crown Prince to Bangladesh after 1985 when the then Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz visited Dhaka. “So, this visit will be very significant for both the countries and the date and schedule of the visit will be fixed through diplomatic channels,” Essa Yussef was quoted as saying. Now the foreign ministries of both the countries will fix details of the visit. A good number of bilateral instruments -- MoUs and agreements—will be signed during the visit of the Saudi Crown Prince, which would strengthen the bilateral ties between the two countries significantly, the envoy hoped.  Describing the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia as special, Sheikh Hasina said this bilateral engagement would be further strengthened and expanded to new areas of collaboration with the visit of the Saudi Crown Prince. Read more: PM leaves Jeddah for home In reply, the Saudi envoy said Saudi Arabia enjoys a special place in the hearts of Bangladeshi people. “Our relations are growing from higher to higher over time,” he said. The Prime Minister called for more Saudi investment in different sectors of Bangladesh, including establishing an oil refinery in Bangladesh, investment in agro-processing and food-processing and halal food industries. She said Bangladesh is ready to allocate special land in Bangladesh for Saudi entrepreneurs, especially in Mirsarai special economic zone, and also  an exclusive economic zone in the country’s southern region. Hasina also said that the purchasing power of Bangladeshi people has gone up. If Saudi Arabia makes investments here, it will get a good return, she said, assuring that Saudi investment will receive all-out support from the Bangladesh government. In response, the Saudi Ambassador appreciated the gesture from the PM, saying that he would suitably brief the relevant authorities in Saudi Arabia. He further told the meeting that there are indeed some Saudi investment initiatives going on in Bangladesh. He said several Saudi brands including Saudi fast-food service company ‘Herfy’ are doing very good business in Bangladesh. “We’re working hard to make an effective collaboration between the two Muslim brotherly countries,” he was quoted as saying. Read more: Saudi Arabia assures assistance in commercial supply of LNG to Bangladesh The diplomat said the Saudi investors are very interested to participate in the mega projects of Bangladesh. He said that last month the Saudi Prince allocated more than $10 billion fund for implementation of mega projects in five countries. Bangladesh could be one such country to benefit from Saudi investment if such funds come for its mega projects. “This is a huge area of cooperation unexplored,” he added. In response, the PM appreciated the increasing interest from Saudi Arabia to invest in the mega projects in Bangladesh. Hasina said Bangladesh has been maintaining friendly-relations with all the Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia for the greater welfare of the Muslim Ummah as well as the people of Bangladesh.   The Saudi diplomat lauded the leadership of Hasina, particularly for giving shelter to 1.1 million displaced Rohingya people despite having many limitations. “It is so generous (gesture)” he said. He assured that Saudi Arabia supports the stance of Bangladesh over the Rohingya issue in the international forums. The PM said Bangladesh is facing various problems caused by the long stay of Rohingya. “It is a big burden for Bangladesh,” she was quoted. The Prime Minister then floated the idea of setting up fertilizer factories in Saudi Arabia as joint ventures between Bangladeshi and Saudi investors. In response, the Saudi envoy said, “We need to work on the proposal.” During the meeting, the Prime Minister made the proposal to allow Bangladesh to purchase oil, both crude and refined, with a deferred payment schedule. “If Saudi Arabia considers the proposal, it would be better for us to meet the demand of the growing industries. We need some support,” she was quoted. Read more: Bangladesh reiterates fraternity with Saudi Arabia Hasina asked the Saudi envoy to convey her sincere thanks and greetings to the King of Saudi Arabia and the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. PM’s Ambassador-at-Large Mohammad Ziauddin and PM’s Principal Secretary Ahmad Kaikaus were present.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia will take over as the Arab country’s prime minister, and Prince Khalid bin Salman will take over as defence minister, according to a royal order cited by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on Tuesday. The crown prince, who is Saudi King Salman’s heir apparent, already possesses a wide range of authority and is regarded as the day-to-day ruler of the kingdom. The Saudi Press Agency also stated that King Salman will continue to preside over the meetings of the Cabinet, Associated Press reported. Read: Oil price war, Mecca ban are latest risks by Saudi prince Saudi Arabia’s comprehensive plan to modernise its economy and eliminate its reliance on oil, known as “Vision 2030”, has been spearheaded by the 37-year-old crown prince, popularly known as MBS. MBS has been associated with the murder of Saudi journalist and critic Jamal Khashoggi, who disappeared after entering the Saudi Consulate in Turkey’s Istanbul. According to US intelligence, the crown prince probably gave the murder his approval. Read: Saudi prince's anti-corruption sweep ends with $106B netted The prince denied ordering the killing but stated in 2019 that he accepted “all responsibility” for it because it occurred under his watch. Saudi officials have claimed that renegade Saudi security and intelligence personnel were responsible for Khashoggi’s murder. Although they have not been named, Saudi Arabian authorities claim to have jailed eight Saudi citizens for the murder. Despite having previously pledged to declare Saudi Arabia a “pariah” over the Khashoggi murder, US President Joe Biden visited the kingdom and had a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince MBS earlier this year, indicating the continued significance of relations with the greatest oil exporter in the world.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Greece Tuesday on his first trip to a European Union country since the killing in 2018 of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi that triggered widespread international condemnation. Bin Salman, who is traveling with a large government and business delegation, met with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and will attend the signing of a series of bilateral investment and defense agreements. Khashoggi, a U.S.-based journalist, was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and his body was dismembered with a bone saw, according to Turkish officials. A U.S. intelligence report, made public last year, said the crown prince likely approved the killing but he has denied any involvement. Greece has forged close ties with Saudi Arabia in recent years as it seeks allies in the wider region to address long-standing tension with neighbor Turkey, mostly over sea boundaries and drilling rights. Last year, Greece and Saudi Arabia held joint military exercises out of the Greek island of Crete, and Athens lent the kingdom a missile battery from its Patriot air defense system. The two countries are also planning a data cable link worth a reported 800 million euros that would run under the Mediterranean Sea and be completed in 2025. Read: Jamal Khashoggi killing: Rights group files complaint against Saudi crown prince The Saudi Prince’s trip to Greece follows his meeting earlier with month in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with President Joe Biden. Mitsotakis visited Saudi Arabia last October and met the crown prince who also later received visits from French President Emmanuel Macron and the outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

An international media rights group has filed a complaint with German prosecutors against Saudi Arabia's crown prince and four other top officials accusing them of crimes against humanity over allegations they were involved in the killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi, authorities said Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince likely approved an operation to kill or capture a U.S.-based journalist inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, according to a newly declassified U.S. intelligence report released Friday that could escalate pressure on the Biden administration to hold the kingdom accountable for a murder that drew bipartisan and international outrage.

Israeli media reported Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Saudi Arabia for a clandestine meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which would mark the first known encounter between senior Israeli and Saudi officials.