Regent Muhammad bin Salman shouted at Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, when asked about the killing of journalist Jamal Hashukaji at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul
The Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had shouted at President Biden’s national security adviser.
The incident occurred when the two first met at the Prince’s Palace last September. According to the report, although the Saudi ruler seemed to have taken a calm tone while wearing sportswear during the meeting, he “ended up shouting at Sullivan after raising the issue of the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Hashukaji in 2018.” It was reported that: “The prince told Sullivan that he never wants to discuss the matter again.”
People familiar with the case were quoted by the Wall Street Journal. Because Ben Salman told the adviser that the United States “may forget about increasing oil production.”
The incident highlights the collapse of relations between Washington and Riyadh since Ben Salman was appointed heir to the throne in 2017. The early optimism and positive relations enjoyed by then-US President Donald Trump waned following Hashukaji’s assassination in 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The Houthis supported by Iran.
Ben Salman hinted at the collapse of relations with Washington last month in an interview with Atlantic. He warned the United States not to interfere in the kingdom’s internal affairs. When asked if Biden did not understand things about him, he said, “I just do not care, it depends on Biden to think about America’s interests.” Pro-Saudi regime commentator Ali Shihabi has acknowledged tensions between the two allies, but rejected the claim that Riyadh’s insistence on Biden recognizing Ben Salman as heir to the throne is the cause. A lawsuit to inherit Ben Salman’s throne is certainly not one of them, “he noted.
“The idea that the United States has any influence on the succession in Saudi Arabia is ridiculous,” Shihabi said. He also rejected the claim that the overthrow of Ben Salman’s predecessor as regent, Muhammad bin Naif, occurred because he was Washington’s preferred choice. Ben Naif was replaced in 2017 by Ben Salman in a move described by commentators as a “soft coup”.