A former Saudi official has claimed in a report that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman forged his father's signature on the royal decree that started Saudi Arabia's prolonged and deadlocked war against Yemen's Houthi rebels.

Saad al-Jabri alleges that MBS, who was just 29 years old and serving as the country's defence minister at the time, dragged the kingdom into the war to assert his authority on the throne as King Salman's health was declining.

Saudi Arabia has not yet responded to Saad al-Jabri's allegations, which were made without supporting evidence in an interview published by the BBC on Monday. The kingdom has previously referred to Al-Jabri as "a discredited former government official." Al-Jabri, a former Saudi intelligence officer now living in exile in Canada, has been in a prolonged dispute with the kingdom. His two children have been imprisoned, a situation he claims is an attempt to force him to return to Saudi Arabia.

“We were surprised that there was a royal decree to allow the ground interventions. He forged the signature of his dad for that royal decree. The king’s mental capacity was deteriorating," said Al-Jabri, who added that a "credible, reliable" official linked to the Saudi Interior Ministry confirmed the forged signature. 

Al-Jabri also mentioned that the CIA station chief in Riyadh angrily told him that the kingdom and MBS should not have ignored the Americans and that the invasion of Yemen should have been avoided.

The allegation arises as Prince Mohammed now acts as the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, frequently representing his father, the 88-year-old King Salman, in meetings with other leaders. His assertive behaviour, especially during the early days of his rise to power around the onset of the Yemen war in 2015, included a broader crackdown on any perceived dissent or potential threats to his authority.

The war in Yemen, initiated by Prince Mohammed with assurances that it would end quickly, has dragged on for nearly a decade. It has resulted in the deaths of over 150,000 people and caused one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters, claiming tens of thousands more lives. At the time, Prince Mohammed was serving as defence minister.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, have launched attacks on shipping, disrupting traffic through the Red Sea. These actions have led to the most intense combat the US Navy has faced since World War II.

Al-Jabri once worked for former Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who was a trusted ally of the US in the fight against al-Qaeda militants in Saudi Arabia following the September 11, 2001, attacks. In 2017, King Salman replaced bin Nayef with his son, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as crown prince and bin Nayef is believed to have been placed under house arrest afterwards.

Al-Jabri later sued Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a US federal court, alleging that the crown prince attempted to have him killed after he fled the country.

In an interview with the BBC, al-Jabri reiterated his claim that Prince Mohammed had considered assassinating former King Abdullah using a poison ring from Russia, a claim he first made in a 2021 interview with CBS News. He also expressed his ongoing fears that the crown prince still wants him killed, especially as his children remain imprisoned in Saudi Arabia.

“He planned for my assassination,” al-Jabri told the BBC. “He will not rest until he sees me dead. I have no doubt about that.”

The kingdom has issued Interpol notices to Canada, seeking al-Jabri's extradition, accusing him of corruption involving billions of dollars during his time at the ministry. However, Ottawa has so far refused to comply with these requests.

Image source: AFP