The former Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia was forced to give up his claim to the throne because he was ‘addicted to pain killing drugs’, it has been claimed.
Mohammed bin Nayef has been removed from his post in favour of his brother, the king’s favourite son, Mohammed bin Salman.
Palace officials have claimed Mohammed bin Nayef was forced to step aside in an effective palace coup by King Salman bin Abdulaziz, while his brother ‘plotted to oust his rival’.
A senior Saudi official this week denied that there was anything wrong with the way that crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef was removed from his post in favour of the king’s favourite son, Mohammed bin Salman.
It was reported earlier on Wednesday that the former heir to the throne, Mohammed bin Nayef, had been forced to step aside in an effective palace coup by King Salman bin Abdulaziz because his judgment was clouded by his addiction to pain-killing drugs.
The high official source said the account was totally ‘unfounded and untrue in addition to being nonsense’.
‘The story depicted here is a complete fantasy worthy of Hollywood,’ the official said in a statement.
The statement did not refer to Mohammed bin Nayef’s alleged use of drugs such as morphine, which he took to cope with the pain he suffered after an attacker blew himself up in front of him in his palace in 2009.
The Saudi official said Mohammed bin Nayef had been removed from his post in the national interest and had not experienced any ‘pressure or disrespect’.
The official added that the reasons for Mohammed bin Nayef’s removal were ‘confidential’.
Sources with knowledge of the situation reported that Mohammed bin Nayef was under house arrest following his removal from office, but the Saudi official said Mohammed bin Nayef had received guests, including the king and the new crown prince.
Despite suggestions by sources that King Salman might step down in favour of Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi official said the king was ‘in excellent health’.
The high-stakes power grab has placed sweeping powers in the hands of the 32-year-old Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MbS, and appears designed to speed his accession to the throne.
Should he get the job, the young prince will preside over a kingdom facing tough times from depressed oil prices, the conflict in Yemen, rivalry with an emboldened Iran and a major diplomatic crisis in the Gulf.
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